Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: Gingival depigmentation with the help of lasers is known as an effective technique. The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of 980nm diode and CO2 lasers in the treatment of gingival hyperpigmentation.
Methods: In this study, 14 individuals with the age range of 19 to 47 years were selected. One quadrant was randomly treated with a CO2 laser (10600 nm, non-contact, super pulse mode), and the opposite quadrant was treated with a diode laser (980 nm, continuous wave [CW], 1.5 W). The area of the pigmented region, Dummett oral pigmentation index (DOPI), and the number of changes in the RGB parameter (red, green, blue) and ΔE* in clinical photographs before, one, and three months after the treatment were calculated by ImageJ and Photoshop software. Pain and discomfort were assessed one hour, one day, and one week later by the visual analog scale. In addition, after 3 months, the cosmetic results achieved for the different therapeutic approaches were evaluated by patients and professional evaluators. 
Results: The results of this study showed that the duration of CO2 laser treatment was statistically and significantly shorter than the time of 980-diode laser treatment (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the pigmented lesion area (P>0.05), RGB parameter (P>0.05), DOPI index (P>0.05), and ΔE parameter (P>0.05) in one month and three months after treatment follow-ups between the two types of lasers. There was no statistically significant difference in patient satisfaction (P>0.05) and professional evaluation (P>0.05) between the two groups of lasers. Post-treatment pain scores were not statistically significant between the two groups.
Conclusion: Both 980-nm diode laser and 10600-nm CO2 are effective in the treatment of gingival depigmentation while CO2 laser radiation with super pulse mode is faster in terms of operating time. While working with the diode laser is more controllable.