Comparison between Scalpel and Laser technique for gingival depigmentation-A Split mouth study.

An esthetic smile is a perfect balance between hard and soft tissues of the mouth. Gingiva plays an important role in the esthetic appearance of an individual. Gingival pigmentation is considered to be unaesthetic by patients, and it may have a psychological impact on them. Gingival depigmentation is a periodontal plastic surgery procedure, and variety of depigmentation techniques have been described in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of diode laser and scalpel in gingival depigmentation procedure.MATERIAL AND METHODA total of 12 patients with age range between 20 -40 years were selected in the randamized, split mouth study. The maxillary arch was divided into two segments: 1.Segment I- right rst premolar to right central incisors. 2.Segment II- left rst premolar to left central incisors. These two segments were randomly assigned to surgical scalpel and diode laser techniques modalities. The research included the following clinical evaluation parameters at baseline and 3 months: Dummet Oral Pigmentation Index (DOPI) by Dummet and Gupta (1964)and VAS for pain. RESULTSThere is clinically no significant difference between the Dummet Oral Pigmentation Index (DOPI)and Visual analogue scale for pain between Laser and Scalpel for gingival depigmentation.CONCLUSIONTherefore, within the limitation of this study it can be concluded that scalpel technique is still considered the gold standard treatment for gingival depigmentation.KEY WORDS- diode laser, Visual analogue scale (VAS), Dummet Oral Pigmentation Index (DOPI).