Comparison of Er,Cr:YSGG Laser and Diode Laser in the Treatment of Gingival Melanin Pigmentation: Randomised Clinical Trial

Recently, soft tissue aesthetics has become an important issue in dentistry. The normal physiological color of the gingiva is coral pink or pale pink. The color of gingiva is determined by several factors, including thickness of ephitelium, degree of keratinization, the number and size of underlying blood vessels and pigments within the epithelium. Gingival hyperpigmentation is caused by excessive deposition of melanin located in the basal and suprabasal cell layers of the epithelium. Many etiological factors such as smoking can stimulate melanin pigmentation. It has been reported that polycyclic amines such as nicotine and benzopyrene, which are known to penetrate melanocytes and bind to melanin, in cigarettes cause stimulation of melanocytes and as a result increase melanin production. Smoker melanocyte pigmentation was described first time by Hedin in 1977 as 'a local benign melanin pigmentation often seen in the attached gingiva'. Although physiologic melanin pigmentation and smoker melanosis are not medical problems, patients seek treatment for esthetic purposes. Various depigmentation techniques are employed to address the aesthetic concerns of individuals. Methods used for depigmentation: Chemical treatment, electrosurgery, abrasion with diamond tools, scalpel technique, gingivectomy, gingival graft, cryosurgery and lasers. Which method to choose depends on clinical experience and individual preferences. However, most researchers consider laser ablation to be more effective, convenient, and safer for gingival depigmentation. Many laser systems such as CO2 laser, Diyot laser, Neodymium Doped:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet(Nd:YAG) laser, Erbium Doped:Yttrium Aluminum Garnet(Er:YAG) laser and Erbium Chromium-Doped:Yttrium, Scandium, Gallium, Garnet(Er,Cr:YSGG) are used for this purpose. In melanin depigmentation with laser, the ability melanocytes which containing melanin to absorb the laser beam depends on the wavelength and water. The wavelength of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser is 2780nm, while the wavelength of the diode laser is 810-980nm.10 While diode laser is used for soft tissue surgery, Er,Cr:YSGG laser is used for soft and hard tissue surgery. Although there are more case reports regarding the use of diode lasers in gingival depigmentation, only a few focus on the use of Er, Cr:YSGG laser. In this study; in the treatment of gingival depigmentation by use of Er, Cr: YSGG laser and Diode laser to patients, it was aimed to evaluate the satisfaction of the patients during and after the operation, to evaluate the change in gingival tissue thickness and to evaluate the rate of repigmentation.