What makes gums dark

Quitting smoking may help reduce this dark pigmentation. Sometimes, black gums can be a sign of something more serious.

A black spot on the gums could be a type of oral cancer known as malignant melanoma. If you notice this type of lesion, see your dentist. Oral malignant melanomas are diagnosed with a tissue biopsy. Black gums don't always require treatment, but many options are available for people interested in cosmetic solutions.

After examining your gums, your dentist can recommend an appropriate treatment for your situation. Removing the darkened gum tissue with a scalpel is one of the surgical options available to patients. The initial results for this procedure tend to be good, but they don't always last. That's because melanin-producing cells can sometimes migrate into the treated area, causing more pigmentation.

Cryosurgery, which involves freezing the affected gum tissue, is another treatment option. The rate of recurrence after cryosurgery is low. Free gingival grafting may also be used. This treatment involves harvesting unpigmented tissue from the roof of the mouth and applying it to the gums. This conceals the dark gum tissue instead of eliminating it. Gums come in many different shades. Black gums are often simply a natural variation and not a medical concern. If you're concerned about the colour of your gums, talk to your dentist.

Our Mission. Submit an Idea. The dam provides a barrier between the tooth and gum that keeps amalgam from migrating from the former to the latter. A blue nevus is a round mole that can be either flat or slightly raised.

They can be either blue or black and look like freckles on the gum. Blue nevi tend to develop during adolescence and are more common in women. If they change color, shape, or size, though, a doctor may recommend a biopsy to check for cancer. Melanotic macules look like freckles, too.

They can appear on various parts of the body, the gums included, and are generally between one and eight millimeters in diameter. A person can be born with them, or they can appear later in life. Sometimes a rare condition called oral melanoacanthona causes dark spots to appear in various portions of the mouth, the gums included. This is another condition whose cause is not yet understood although doctors have determined it occurs mostly in younger people.

It may be due to injuries sustained while chewing or due to friction. Whatever the cause, no treatment is required. Oral cancer can produce dark gums. It often produces bleeding, open sores, and swelling in the mouth as well. Cancer in the mouth can also result in an altered voice, a chronic sore throat, or the changes in a mole or freckle mentioned above.

Doctors generally detect oral cancer by means of a biopsy. Dark gums can also result from acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis. This is a condition rarely seen today although it was common enough on the battlefields of World War I to acquire the name trench mouth.

It causes a gray film to build up on the gums as the tissue dies. It can also cause fever, gum pain, and bad breath. Early symptoms include bad breath, bleeding gums, an excessive amount of saliva, ulcers on the gums at the edges of the teeth, and a general feeling of illness.

Dark gums can also result from acute necrotizing periodontal disease, sometimes called black gum disease. In this illness, the discolored gums likewise reflect the presence of dead tissue, or necrosis. The Future Dental Journal notes that many medications can have this side effect, including some antimalarials, antipsychotics, cancer therapy drugs and antibiotics.

If you notice darker gums after starting a new medication, talk to your doctor. Smoking can cause many side effects inside the mouth , including dark gums. The nicotine in tobacco activates the melanin-producing cells, leading to darker gums, explains the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Quitting smoking may help reduce this dark pigmentation. Sometimes, black gums can be a sign of something more serious. A black spot on the gums could be a type of oral cancer known as malignant melanoma.

If you notice this type of lesion, see your dentist. The Oral Cancer Foundation explains that oral malignant melanomas are diagnosed with a tissue biopsy. Black gums don't always require treatment, but for people who are interested in cosmetic solutions, many options are available. After examining your gums, your dentist can recommend an appropriate treatment for your situation.

Removing the darkened gum tissue with a scalpel is one of the surgical options available to patients. The initial results for this procedure tend to be good, but they don't always last.

That's because melanin-producing cells can sometimes migrate into the treated area, causing more pigmentation. Cryosurgery, which involves freezing the affected gum tissue, is another treatment option.

A study published in the International Journal of Health Sciences reports that the rate of recurrence after cryosurgery is low. Free gingival grafting may also be used. This treatment involves harvesting unpigmented tissue from the roof of the mouth and applying it to the gums. This conceals the dark gum tissue instead of eliminating it.

Gums come in many different shades. Black gums are often simply a natural variation and not a medical concern. If you're concerned about the color of your gums, talk to your dentist.