Pigmented areas in the oral cavity are often considered physiological but a practicing dentist must be aware of pigmentation secondary to oral melanoma which is rare, but life threatening. Melanoma represents one of the most life threatening cancers known. The etiology of oral melanoma is still unknown. Lesions are irregular and asymmetric, and commonly involve palate, gingiva, tongue, buccal m...

It is estimated that more than 2-4% of hospital admissions are related to drug induced reactions. There is an ever expanding list of medications linked to pathologic reactions in the oral and perioral region. Several patterns of diseases have been identified, and these can assist the clinician in determining a possible cause and effect relationship with a particular or a group of drugs. The mec...

Healthy oral soft tissues present a typical pink to red with slight variations of color due to many reasons presence or absence of keratin on the surface epithelium, the quantity, superficial or deep location of blood vessels in the subjacent stroma, the existence of lobules of adipocytes, the absence of melanin pigmentation in the basal cell layer of the epithelium oral and perioral pigmentati...

Zinsser-Cole-Engmann syndrome, more commonly known as Dyskeratosis Congenita, is a heritable genodermatosis having an estimated incidence of 1 in 1 million people. It is important for an oral physician to be aware of this condition as oral leukoplakia occurs in this condition as part of a classic triad along with reticulate skin pigmentation and nail dystrophy. Besides these, there may be myria...

Background: Melanin pigmentation of the gingiva occurs in allethnicities. Excessive pigmentation is an esthetic concern thathas increased awareness about depigmentation procedures. Thepurpose of the present study was to correlate the skin color andgender with the intensity and distribution of gingival melaninpigmentation in a group of South Indians for treatment strategies.Method: Two hundred m...

Melanin hyperpigmentation is the result of melanin granules. "Black gums" may cause esthetic problems. Different treatment modalities have been used with the aim of removing pigmentations for esthetic reasons, all of which have some advantages and disadvantages. Recurrent lesions are the most important concept in all of these treatments. Cryotherapy is a method of tissue destruction by rapid fr...

Familial progressive hyperpigmentation (FPH) is a rare genodermatosis characterized by hyperpigmented patches in the skin and mucous membranes, present in early infancy, and increase in size and number with age. The genetic basis for FPH remains unknown. We report an unusual case of familial progressive hypermelanosis in a 17-year-old male patient with family history, who presented with a pecul...

INTRODUCTION Melasma is a common chronic, acquired pigmentation disorder with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. AIM To investigate the etiopathogenetic factors, thyroid functions and thyroid autoimmunity in patients with melasma. MATERIAL AND METHODS Forty-five women with melasma and 45 age-matched healthy women were included in the study group. A detailed history was...