# Assessment of Healing after Diode Laser Gingivectomy Prior to Prosthetic Procedures
## 3 Results
The mean level of postoperative pain after diode laser gingivectomy in the four stages of their assessment is presented in Table 4.  
Postoperative hemorrhage on probing is a sign of the formation of a blood coagulum after the procedure and the normal course of the healing process in the gingival sulcus, including resorption of the coagulum and reorganization of the epithelium and the connective tissue. The presence of this indicator during the four stages of this research is presented in Table 4. At the 24 th hour, all 41 observed teeth presented with bleeding on probing, while at the 72 nd hour, there were 36 (87.8%). During the 1 st week after gingivectomy, postoperative hemorrhage on probing was reported in nine of the cases (22.0%), and during the 2 nd week none of the cases (Table 5). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Postoperative Pain (VAS Scale Scores)** & **Number** & **\%** \\ \hline
0 & 3 & 7.3 \\
1 & 5 & 12.2 \\
2 & 9 & 22.0 \\
3 & 15 & 36.6 \\
6 & 9 & 22.0 \\
**Total** & 41 & 100.0 \\ \hline \multicolumn{3}{c}{**72 nd Hour**} \\ \hline  & Number & \% \\ \hline
0 & 19 & 46.3 \\
1 & 7 & 17.1 \\
2 & 6 & 14.6 \\
3 & 9 & 22.0 \\
**Total** & 41 & 100.0 \\ \hline \multicolumn{3}{c}{**1 st Week**} \\ \hline  & Number & \% \\ \hline
0 & 32 & 78.0 \\
1 & 9 & 22.0 \\
**Total** & 41 & 100.0 \\ \hline \multicolumn{3}{c}{**2 nd Week**} \\ \hline  & Number & \% \\ \hline
0 & 41 & 100.0 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Postoperative pain (VAS scale scores). The gingival tissue color, observed in dynamics during the postoperative period, is described in Table 6. The whitening of the tissue meant that coagulation had occurred, and the proper laser parameters were used, while a burned color of the tissue was an indicator of excessive power or holding it in one place for too long. During the first stage of observation--the 24 th hour--in 31 of the cases (75.6%), the color turned white, and at the 72 nd hour, this color was reported in only 2 of the cases (4.9%). During the 1 st and 2 nd week, there was not a single case with this characteristic. At the 24 th hour, a red tissue color was reported in 10 of the examined cases (24.4%), at the 72 nd hour this color was present in 37 of the observed gingival surfaces (90.2%), and during the 1 st week, it occurred only in 9 (22.0%). During the 2 nd week, this tissue color was not reported, and in all cases, only a pink color of the gingiva was reported. In the 1 st week, in 32 of the observed gingiva (78.0%), the reported tissue color was already pink. It should be noted that in all cases at each stage of the study after diode laser gingivectomy, the tissue contour was normal, and only at the 24 th hour a very slight (almost invisible to the naked eye) edematous contour of the incised gingival surface was reported. The dynamic clinical characteristics of the wound healing process are presented in Table 7. At the 24 th hour, all gingival wounds were covered with fibrinous plaque and an erythemata halo, and at the 72 nd hour, in two cases (4.9%) this wound's characteristic had already passed through to the next healing stage--granulated surface and had normal pale pink color. A granulated surface in the 1 st week was reported in 10 (24.4%) of the cases, and in all other 31 (75.6%) complete healing was reported. In the second week, all wound surfaces were completely healed and had a normal pale pink color. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**24 th Hour**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**72 nd Hour**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**1 st Week**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**2 nd Week**} \\ \hline  & **Number** & **\%** & **Number** & **\%** & **Number** & **\%** & **Number** & **\%** \\ \hline Pink & - & - & 2 & 4.9 & 32 & 78.0 & 41 & 100.0 \\ Red & 10 & 24.4 & 37 & 90.2 & 9 & 22.0 & - & - \\ Whitened & 31 & 75.6 & 2 & 4.9 & - & - & - & - \\ \hline Total & 41 & 100.0 & 41 & 100.0 & 41 & 100.0 & 41 & 100.0 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: Tissue color after diode laser gingivectomy during the 4 stages of observation.