Introduction: Black colored gingiva is an esthetic concern, especially when accompanied by a high lip line or gummy smile.Surgical depigmentation with a scalpel is still considered the golden standard in gingival pigmentation management although it causes an area of open wound, which needs a special management with dressing.This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the effectiveness of reactive oxygen gel species (BlueM gel) and the traditional Coe-Pack dressing on gingival healing and pain after surgical depigmentation.
Materials and methods: This split-mouth randomized clinical trial was conducted on 20 nonsmoking individuals aged 20-38 years with maxillary physiologic gingival pigmentation classes (III) and (IV) according to the Dummett-Gupta Oral Pigmentation Index (40 treated sites) who had requested an esthetic treatment for gingival hyperpigmentation of the maxillary gingiva.The maxilla was randomly divided into two symmetrical parts-from the right second premolar to the midline and from the midline to the left second premolar-to receive either BlueM gel or Coe-Pack as a dressing after surgical depigmentation with a scalpel. Various indices were assessed, such as pain and reepithelization index with toluidine blue, and the follow-up period was 1 month.
Results: A total of 20 patients were included in this study. There were statistically significant differences in the pain index after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days. The BlueM gel group showed a higher significant difference after 1, 2, and 3 weeks in the reepithelization index.
Conclusion: Hence, BlueM gel can be considered as a good alternative for the Coe-Pack dressing after gingival depigmentation owing to its pain reduction properties, acceleration of wound healing, and postoperative reepithelization.
Keywords: Active oxygen species; BlueM gel; Coe-pack; Gingival pigmentation; Scalpel technique.
© 2022 The Authors.