Q: Good evening ma’am. Thank you for the good work. May God continue to strengthen you. Please, my 8-month old baby suddenly has black gums. She already has two teeth. What could be the cause and what should I do?

A: Black gums could be due to heredity (it runs in families) or ethnicity (if you’re from the black race, you’re more likely to have dark gums). Having said that, though it is more likely in dark skinned people, it can also happen in other ethnicities. Just as excessive exposure to sunlight can cause people to get darker, the same can happen to your gums.

However, it could also be due to diseases or certain drugs.
Diseases in which the pigment responsible for dark skin (melanin) is produced in excessive amounts, smoking, poor oral hygiene and even some anti-malarial drugs can cause dark gums.

If your baby’s case is due…