Assessment of Prevalent Gingival Shades in the South Indian Population: An Observational Study

Introduction: Gingival shade matching, often overlooked, plays an integral role in designing prostheses for patients with high smile lines, gingival defects, and cases where the acrylic flange of removable dentures extends into the aesthetic zone. The purpose of this study was to find the most prevalent gingival shade in a sample of the South Indian population. Materials and methods: A total of 110 participants were included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The standard daylight method of shade matching was used for this study. The participants were seated in a dental chair in the vertical position with their heads supported, their mouths open, and cheek retractors in place. The study area, gingiva, and vestibular region in relation to maxillary and mandibular right central incisors were dried with a three-way syringe, 15cm away, for 3 seconds before shade matching for 5 seconds at each reference point with an Ivoclar Vivadent IPS Dsign shade guide. Conclusion: The most prevalent shade in the marginal and vestibular regions of the gingiva of the South Indian population was found to be GM2 shade, while the most prevalent shade of the attached gingiva was found to be G2 shade. A good percentage of the attached gingival shade was not matched with the tabs available in this shade guide.