Evaluation of Pigmentation Pattern in The Smile Zone with Facial Skin Complexion.

Abstract

The color of the facial skin serves as a basic guide to the gingival display and Tooth shade. Restorative dental practitioners and Prosthodontists have always faced the challenge of harmonizing facial skin complexion with the tooth shade when fabricating any fixed or removable restoration.The aim of this study is to determine if there is a relationship of facial skin complexion with the pigmentation of the gingiva in the smile zone.This is a cross-sectional, analytical study conducted in Avadi, Thiruvallur District, Tamilnadu. Our Sample size consisted of 100 individuals. Participants are informed about the nature and purpose of the study. Participants belongs to the age group of 15 to 40 years. This age group is selected because the pigmentation pattern is well observed. The participants are selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The facial skin complexion is categorised into fair and dark complexion and respectively grades are given. The intensity of physiological gingival tissue pigmentation is evaluated based on the colour of the gingiva.It is seen that gingival tissue pigmentation is more found on the attached gingiva and interdental papilla. It is least found on the marginal gingiva. It is observed that people having fair or lighter skin complexion has mild gingival pigmentation where as people having darker skin complexion has severe gingival pigmentation. However, as such no significant correlation is seen with respect to gender or age. The study reported that people having a darker skin complexion have moderate to severe gingival tissue pigmentation and people having a fair/lighter skin complexion have mild gingival tissue pigmentation. The gingival tissue pigmentation is more commonly seen on the attached gingiva and interdental papilla.