Efficacy of 980 nm diode laser and 2940 nm Er: YAG laser in gingival depigmentation: A comparative study

Abstract

Oral pigmentation refers to discoloration of oral mucosa or gingiva as a result of a variety of lesions and conditions that are associated with several endogenous and exogenous etiologic factors.These conditions include drug use, heavy metals, genetics, endocrine disturbance, and inflammation. 1 The color of the oral melanin pigmentation may vary from light to dark brown or black according to the amount and distribution of melanin in the tissue. 2 Several studies reported significant correlation between cigarette smoking and oral pigmentation; prevalence of 21% and 90% among cigarette smokers was recorded. Gingival pigmentation is physiologic condition and called "racial pigmentation" or caused by several endogenous and exogenous factors including tobacco. 3 Although

Gingival Depigmentation Using Diode 980 nm and Erbium-YAG 2940 nm Lasers: A Split-Mouth Clinical Comparative Study

“…Although our results showed a higher rate of gingival pigmentation remnants than other studies, this could be attributed to the low laser parameters that were used by the author to reduce the pain. Nevertheless, these findings are still in agreement with the studies that used Er:YAG and diode laser for GD [ 10 ]. It is well known that diode laser wavelength is perfectly absorbed by haemoglobin and melanin pigments, while Er:YAG is absorbed by water.…”

“…Recently, various types of laser have been used for gingival ablation, which are recognized as one of the most effective, comfortable, and reliable techniques with almost no postoperative complications [ 8 , 10 , 11 , 20 ]. In this study, we compared the efficacy of diode laser (980 nm) and erbium-YAG laser (2940 nm) using the split-mouth technique for GD.…”

“…The diode laser is considered superb for soft tissue surgery and shows no interaction with the hard dental tissues. Also, it has a thermal effect that results in the production of a thick coagulation layer on the treated surfaces that enhances proper healing [ 10 ]. On the other hand, Er:YAG laser, due to its specific wavelength, is highly absorbed by water resulting in less heat generation and better wound healing.…”

“…Gholami et al (2018) [ 27 ], compared two settings of Er:YAG laser during GD, and areas of repigmentation were reported at 3 months. This can be justified by the fact that melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) are deeply seated in the basal layer of tissues and Er:YAG laser has a shallow laser beam penetration distance compared to the diode laser [ 10 , 23 ]. Therefore, some of the unablated cells are reactivated leading to melanin synthesis.…”

“…All patients were called on the evening of the operation (day 1) and day 2 and day 3 postoperatively and asked to mark the level of the experienced pain based on a 0 to 10 numeric pain rating scale; with left end (0) point marked as “no pain” and the right end [ 10 ] marked as “severe pain.” A mark was placed at the corresponding number to match the level of the experienced pain [ 16 ]. The scores were calculated as shown in Table 4 .…”