EFFECT OF DIODE LASER DEPIGMENTATION ON GINGIVAL TISSUE OF DOGS (Light and Electron microscopic study)

Abstract

The aesthetic needs of the patients are increasing day by day. Each and every patient wants a beautiful smile. To achieve this, not only the teeth but also the gingiva plays an important role. Gingival depigmentation as an aesthetic procedure, improves the smile and the overall appearance of an individual. The color of the pigmented gingiva varies from light to dark brown or black. Many techniques have been tried for depigmentation. Lasers have been employed for removal of melanin hyperpigmentation (Arikan et al., 2007). Causes of gingival hyperpigmentation were reported to be genetic as in Africans, Asians and Mediterranean populations, physiologic and called "racial pigmentation". It is clinically manifested as multifocal or diffuse melanin pigmentation with variable prevalence in different ethnic groups. It could be also for pathological reasons as smoking, heavy metals like lead bismuth or mercury, systemic diseases like Addison’s, Albright’s syndrome, Peutz-Jegher’s syndrome and may also be due to drug induced reasons including chloroquine, quinine, minocycline and ketoconazole (Kauzman et al., 2004 and Laporta et al., 2005).