Title

Understanding gingival pigmentation; insights from the Malaysian population: A cross-sectional study

Authors

Tina Varghese^1,*, Prebha Manickam¹, Abin Varghese², Muhammad Khairan AI-Hilal Bin Muhammad Reezal³, Nuraminah Binti Mohd Fadhil⁴ & Sharina Aqila Binti Shaharzat⁵

Affiliation

¹Department of Periodontology, Penang International Dental College, Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia; ²Department of Oral Surgery, Penang International Dental College, Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia; ³Department of Dentistry, Shah Alam, Selangor, Ministry of Health, Malaysia; ⁴Department of Dentistry, Subang Jaya, Ministry of Health, Malaysia; ⁵Department of Dentistry, Merlimau, Melaka, Ministry of Health, Malaysia; *Corresponding author

Email

Tina Varghese - E-mail: tina@pidc.edu.my
Prebha Manickam - E-mail: prebhamanickam@pidc.edu.my
Abin Varghese - E-mail: abin@pidc.edu.my
Muhammad Khairan AI-Hilal Bin Muhammad Reezal - E-mail: khairanreezal4698@gmail.com
Nuraminah Binti Mohd Fadhil - E-mail: nramnh@gmail.com
Sharina Aqila Binti Shaharzat - E-mail: sharinaaq@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received May 1, 2026; Revised May 31, 2026; Accepted May 31, 2026, Published May 31, 2026

Abstract

Gingival pigmentation varies across populations, yet limited research exists on its prevalence and contributing factors within the Malaysian population. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the prevalence, distribution and factors influencing gingival pigmentation among 100 participants from different ethnic groups in Malaysia. Data were collected through clinical examinations and questionnaires assessing demographic, lifestyle and ethnic variables. The study found significant ethnic variations, with Malays and Indian participants exhibiting higher pigmentation levels, particularly among smokers. Thus, we document comprehensive insights into gingival pigmentation patterns in Malaysia, which may inform clinical practice and future research.

Keywords

Ethnicity, gingival pigmentation, Malaysia, smoking, variability

Citation

Varghese et al. Bioinformation 22(5): 2848-2852 (2026)

Edited by

Ritik Kashwani

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.