Are you tired of hiding your gums all the time by smiling with closed lips, or perhaps, even avoiding social interactions altogether? If you are self-conscious about your dark gums, you are not alone.
Like teeth, gum tissue color can affect your smile’s appearance. Pink gums are the preferred color, so any other shade tends to cause smile insecurity.
While dark gums are usually caused by excess melanin in the gum tissue and are not a medical concern, they can be bothersome. Fortunately, there is a simple cosmetic treatment to restore pink gum tissue. It is called gum bleaching (or depigmentation), and we offer it at the Creative Dentistry & MedSpa dental office in Sandy Springs, GA, as part of our general dentistry services.
What Causes Gum Discoloration?
According to a Future Dental Journal study, healthy gums can be light to dark brown or black. However, dark patches on gums could also be a side effect of medications or lifestyle choices like tobacco usage.
If you were born with darker gums, your body produces more melanin (the more melanin your body makes, the darker your skin will be). However, if your gums change color over time, it could be due to:
- Bruising
- Eruption hematoma (cysts containing blood that form in children’s mouths when their permanent teeth are coming in)
- Blue nevus (moles on gums – harmless but should be monitored)
- Amalgam tattoo (amalgam seepage from fillings or crowns procedure)
- Smoking (nicotine causes melanosis, a condition where your body creates more melanin, causing brown or black gums and dark patches on lower lips and inner cheeks)
- Medication (it’s unusual, but some drugs could impact gum pigmentation)
- A medical condition (like Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis, Addison’s Disease, Oral Cancer and Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome)
Most of these dark spots on your gums won’t harm you, but you can get them treated anyway to feel better about your smile.
What is Gum Bleaching Treatment?
Gum bleaching treatment is considered a cosmetic surgery because darker gum tissue is not bad for your health.
Despite the treatment name, we do not use any whitening agents on the gum tissue. Instead, the procedure employs techniques similar to those used in skin microdermabrasion or exfoliation. Our dental team uses specialized tools to remove the top tissue stained with darkness, exposing the underlying lighter, natural pink tissue. It is a safe method that does not harm the gums.
Visit Creative Dentistry & MedSpa for gum bleaching and other cosmetic dental treatments. We have various options to improve the appearance of your teeth and gums so you can smile with confidence. Contact our Sandy Springs office to learn more about gum depigmentation.
Posted on behalf of Creative Dentistry & MedSpa