Gingival Pigmentation Study

Gingival pigmentation has assumed an important role in perio/esthetics and plays a pivotal role in restorative dentistry especially prosthodontics. A recent modification of definition of mucogingival surgery to periodontal plastic surgery includes removal of pigmentation and voluminous research and reports are available with reference to alteration or elimination of gingival pigmentation for cosmetic reasons. To provide a rational basis for clinical situations, an understanding of the evolution and distribution of gingival pigmentation becomes necessary. The present epidemiological cross sectional study was aimed at resolving some of the clinical aspects of gingival pigmentation and study the possible correlation with skin complexion.
In the

The high prevalence of gingival pigmentation in South Indian population may be due to ethnic and genetics factors. The prevalence of 100 % gingival pigmentation in the present study is nearly in accordance with earlier reported studies in Indian races, Joshi and Udhani19(100%), Kamat20 (90%), Pal21 (90.14%) and Hedin and Axell22 (96%).
Physiologic gingival pigmentation is a characteristic of the darker races although it is not limited to any one race. Studies by Monash23, Dummett2, in Negroes reported 95% and 92.3% prevalence of gingival pigmentation. Van Wyk24 in South African Bantu tribals reported 98.4% prevalence of gingival pigmentation. Dummett et al25 in African-Americans found >90% of prevalence.
Hedin and Axell26 found 91% prevalence of gingival pigmentation in Malays, 70% of Thais and 74% of Chinese subjects in Malaysia. Kuroda et al27 reported around 50% prevalence of gingival pigmentation in Japanese school children. Steigmann11 in Yeminite Jews found 50% prevalence of gingival pigmentation. Gingival pigmentation was observed in 12.5% of white, 70.4% of yellow and 93.2% of black Brazilian children. Fry and Almeyda28 found 5% in the Caucasoids in Britain. The above studies signify the influence of race (which reflects skin colour) and ethnic background on gingival