The Use of Soft Tissue Diode Laser in the Treatment of Oral Hyper Pigmentation
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and patients' acceptance of soft tissue diode laser, for the elimination of hyper pigmented areas of the gingivae and buccal mucosa.
Subjects and methods: Twenty patients complaining of dark localized areas in their gingivae of upper and lower jaws, or in cheek mucosa were included in this study. All are females ages ranged from 18-37 with average of 27.5 years. The patients were all not pregnant, and free from any systemic diseases, and had no other areas of hyperpigmentation.
Results: Most of the patients (18 Pts.) required two treatment sessions to remove the melanotic lesions satisfactorily. The patients were seen after one, two, and three weeks respectively. Eight patients (40%) had a good response after one week , Ten patients (50%) had a very good response after two weeks, while only two patients (10%) had a bad result and required a third treatment session after two weeks. At the third week postoperatively in the successful cases, restoration of the normal gingival and mucosal texture and color was achieved with optimal esthetic results. Most of the patients had no postoperative discomfort including: pain, edema and disfigurement.
Conclusion: The soft tissue diode laser can be considered as a reliable mean for elimination of melanotic lesions of the gingivae or buccal mucosa, and is well tolerated by the patients.
Key words: hyperpigmentation- soft tissue diode laser- patient response
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).