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Due to this, dark pigmentation may be visible on the oral mucosa or skin. [10] Most common oral sites include: buccal mucosa, lips, gums, hard palate or tongue. Intraoral sites are usually seen as the first sign and they usually develop prior to the skin lesions. [11]
The ethnic variation may be explained by genetic factors or simply because dark skinned people have greater amount of melanin in the mucosa, making it appear darker (termed racial or physiologic pigmentation). This darker mucosa may make the edematous changes more noticeable, whereas in the mucosa of people with lighter skin types leukoedema ...
Melanin in skin is very common in inhabitants in many parts of the world due to genetic factors. Melanin pigmentation in skin, oral mucosa, inner ear and other organs is a detoxification mechanism. [citation needed] Some toxic agents bind to melanin and will move out of the tissue with the ageing cells and are expelled to the tissue surfaces.
Smoker melanosis in a patient consuming 2 packs of cigarette per day. Smoking or the use of nicotine-containing drugs is the cause to Smoker's melanosis. [10] [11] Tar-components (benzopyrenes) are also known to stimulate melanocytes to melanin production, and other unknown toxic agents in tobacco may also be the cause.
Amalgam tattoo usually occurs on the mandibular gingiva, often in an area in which an apicoectomy ("root-end filling") with amalgam was carried out. [3]: 138 After the gingiva, the alveolar mucosa and the buccal mucosa are the next most common sites, although any mucosal site in the mouth is possible. [1]
The buccal mucosa, along with the gingival and sublingual mucosa, is part of the oral mucosa. [15] It is composed of non-keratinised tissue. Unlike intestinal and nasal mucosae, it lacks tight junctions and is instead equipped with loose intercellular links of desmosomes , gap junctions and hemidesmosomes . [ 7 ]
Hyperpigmentation of the gum in a 22 year old non smoker female patient. Healthy gums usually have a color that has been described as "coral pink". Other colours like red, white, and blue can signify inflammation or pathology. Smoking or drug use can cause discoloring as well (such as "meth mouth"). Although described as the colour coral pink ...
Oral leukoplakia is a potentially malignant disorder affecting the oral mucosa. It is defined as "essentially an oral mucosal white/gray lesion that cannot be considered as any other definable lesion." Oral leukoplakia is a gray patch or plaque that develops in the oral cavity and is strongly associated with smoking. [8]