Causes of Black Gums, Solutions & Prevention
Black gums are a symptom that can be caused by conditions such as smoking, necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, medication use, or Addison's disease, for example. Therefore, when black gums appear for no apparent reason and/or are accompanied by other symptoms, it is advisable to consult a dentist or general practitioner for a complete evaluation and to determine the appropriate treatment, which may include maintaining proper oral hygiene, quitting smoking, using medication, or undergoing surgery.
Main causes
While black gums or spots on gums are usually tied to genetics and ethnicity (certain ethnicities have more melanin, which can cause dark gums), other possible causes of black gums include:
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis is a severe inflammation of the gums that causes painful, bleeding sores, making chewing difficult. In addition, this type of gingivitis can also cause black and swollen gums, bad breath, and fever. Learn more about acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis.
Treatment: Treatment is usually performed by a dentist, involving cleaning the wounds and gums to remove excess bacteria and promote healing. The dentist may also prescribe antibiotics to eliminate the bacteria.
Smoking
Due to the presence of nicotine, a compound found in tobacco that accumulates in the teeth and gums and stimulates melanin production, smoking can cause smoker's melanosis, blackening the gums.
How to treat it: Treatment includes quitting smoking, which gradually reduces gum staining. In addition, the dentist may also recommend some treatments to remove the black stain from the gums, including gum depigmentation, where the damaged cells are removed through various non-invasive surgical means.
Amalgam “Tattoo”
Amalgam tattooing can cause the gums around a tooth that has undergone a filling or crown to darken. This happens when amalgam particles, a material used to make fillings and crowns, become dislodged, resulting in a black, gray, or blue stain on the gums.
Treatment: No treatment is necessary for this condition, as these spots are not removable and do not pose any health risks.
Medications
Black gums can be caused by the use of certain medications, such as chloroquine, quinine, minocycline, zidovudine, chlorpromazine, ketoconazole, bleomycin, and cyclophosphamide, for example. This happens because these medications stimulate melanin pigmentation in the gums.
How to treat it: It is recommended to consult the doctor who prescribed the medication to assess the possibility of switching to another type of medicine.
Oral melanoacanthoma
Oral melanoacanthosis, or melanoma, is a pigmentation that occurs in the mouth, characterized by the presence of plaques ranging in color from brown to black, darkening the gums. These dark plaques can also affect other areas of the mouth, such as the palate and lips.
Treatment: Most melanoacanthomas are removed during a biopsy or with simple excision surgery. Additionally, cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen and curettage are treatments that may also be recommended by a doctor.
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a type of skin cancer that can cause symptoms such as reddish-purple plaques anywhere on the body and may even darken the gums.
Other symptoms that may also appear in Kaposi's sarcoma are painful skin lesions, swelling of the lower limbs, and mouth pain or difficulty eating. Learn to recognize the symptoms of Kaposi's sarcoma.
Treatment: Treatment should be carried out under the guidance of an oncologist, who may recommend surgery to remove spots, plaques, or lesions on the skin; the use of creams or ointments containing imiquimod, to be applied directly to the skin lesions; radiotherapy, or chemotherapy.
In conclusion, are black gums normal?
Black gums are normal in certain ethnicities, being a physiological change caused by an excess of melanin in the body, a pigment that gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes. Because it is a natural change, this condition does not require treatment.
However, when gums become black for no apparent reason or are accompanied by other symptoms, it may indicate a health problem. In these cases, it is recommended to consult a dentist or general practitioner. Call us today!