Our gums don’t only play an important role in the stability of our teeth, they are also important to the overall appearance of our smile. When we think of an attractive smile, we most often think of clean, consistently pink rosy gums surrounding our teeth.

However, while this image might be the most desirable, we don’t always have this color feature. Gum color is various among different individuals and is associated with skin pigmentation. This is usually a normal physiologic pigmentation that develops during the first two decades of our life. Pigmentation could affect a small area or could be more generalized.



It should be however noted that significant color changes and areas of darker pigmentation can be a sign of an underlying health or dental problem that requires professional intervention.

Causes of Gingival Pigmentation

There are different reasons why someone might develop gingival pigmentation. These include the following:

Melanin: The more melanin a person has in their body, the darker their hair, skin and eye color may be and accordingly darker gums than usual will naturally develop.

Smoking: Smoking is one of the leading causes of gum discoloration and occurs because the nicotine found in tobacco causes cells within the body to make more melanin than normal. Smoking also causes discoloration of the teeth.

Medication side effects: Some types of medication are known to cause pigmentation and discoloration of body tissues including those in the gum.

Other Reasons: These include amalgam tattoos, ingestion of heavy metals, chronic gum inflammation and other medical disorders.

Gingival Pigmentation Management
Gingival pigmentation management depends on its cause of your gingival and will be discussed with you by our gum specialist (Periodontist).
If your gum discoloration is believed to be caused by smoking, giving up the tobacco could make a significant improvement to their color.
If your pigmentation is a result of an infection, treatment to deal with this will be provided. This could involve a professional gum cleaning and/or dental cause management.
If other causes are identified, these should be first addressed and managed.


Although gum pigmentation is not a medical problem, complains about "black gums" are common particularly in patients having a very high smile line. At Dr. Raed M. Abutteen Dental Center we believe that a smile expresses a feeling of joy, success, sensuality, affection, and courtesy, and reveals self-confidence and kindness. The harmony of the smile is determined not only by the shape, the position, and the color of the teeth, but also by the gingival tissues health and color.

We offer treatment modalities to achieve a harmonious inter-relationship of the pink with white (gum and teeth), which is imperative of all treatment procedures. At Dr. Raed M. Abutteen Dental Center, we offer cosmetic gum depigmentation sometimes referred to as gum bleaching.



For more advice on this depigmentation, speak to our gum specialist at Dr. Raed M. Abutteen Dental Center, and get the chance to have the smile you are looking for.