Split-Mouth Comparison of Pain and Healing Associated With the Electrocautery and Bur Abrasion Methods in the Treatment of Depigmentation: A Case Report

TL;DR

This case report compares electrocautery and bur abrasion for treating dark gums, finding electrocautery causes less pain and better healing.

Contribution

A split-mouth case report comparing electrocautery and bur abrasion for gingival depigmentation in terms of pain and healing.

Findings

Electrocautery resulted in less patient-reported pain compared to bur abrasion.

Electrocautery-treated sites showed better healing at seven days and one month.

Split-mouth design allowed direct comparison within the same patient.

Abstract

The most common aesthetic issue that affects people's smiles is gingival pigmentation, especially in those with high smile lines. This pigmented gingiva is thought to be naturally occurring melanin pigments that add to the gingiva's endogenous pigmentation. The goal of plastic periodontal surgery known as "gingival depigmentation" is to lighten the dark gingiva by scraping off the gingival epithelium. Gingival depigmentation has been performed with a variety of techniques, including bur abrasion, scraping, partial thickness flap, cryotherapy, electrocautery, and laser. The present case comprised a split-mouth design in which depigmentation using an electrosurgical unit and soft tissue trimming bur was used for the maxillary sections, and evaluated the difference in pain felt by the patient and healing of the surgical site between the sites treated with the electrosurgical unit and bur abrasion method. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to quantify pain felt by the patient on the seventh day, whereas healing was assessed on the seventh day and at a one-month interval visually. The results of this study showed that the electrocautery-treated site showed better results in terms of pain experienced by the patient and also with the surgical site healing.

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