Black Gums

Sometimes the patients complain about a weird change in the color of their gums. They come to us complaining about their bad outlook and want to solve this problem as soon as possible. This situation may happen very often in the regular dental practice since most of the patients are concerned only about the esthetic point of view. On the other hand the clinicians have a different way of evaluating these conditions and are mostly concerned about the function and anatomical health of the surrounding tissues. As a matter of fact both points of view meet in the right clinical decision when it comes to gum diseases.

The best way to evaluate the importance of the clinical case is by obtaining the medical history information- what the complaints are, the history of the complaint, past dental issues, social and family dental and medical history. The patients have noticed a significant change in the gingiva margin which is close to the tooth crown. They say “Doctor, my gums turned black and look awful. Is there an explanation for this color change and what can I do to restore their previous color?” When we observe a healthy gingiva its normal color is pink. Actually this pink color comes from the small arteries and capillaries in the gums.