Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Dermatoloji, cilt.22, sa.3, ss.160-170, 2012 (Scopus)
The level of public awareness about the pigmented skin lesions are rising day by day. Therefore the number of patients presenting to dermatologists for new or changing pigmented lesions is also increasing. However, oral pigmented lesions are often neglected and sometimes can be overlooked for the less known to the diagnosis and treatment approaches. Different classifications are used for discoloration of the oral region. The classification can be made endogenous and exogenous or local and systemic causes according to the source of the pigmentation, or localized and generalized causes according to the distribution of the pigmentation. Oral pigmented lesions may occur as a result of the increasing number of melanocytes, melanin or other endogenous pigments deposition, or exogenous materials storage. Discoloration of the oral region may occur for several reasons, ranging from physiologic pigmentation to life threatening malignant melanoma. In addition, oral pigmented lesions may be an important clue to underlying systemic disease such as endocrinological diseases and pigmentation syndromes. Oral pigmentation may also develop due to drugs and smoking. When evaluating a patient with oral pigmentation, a full medical history including the evolution of the pigmentary changes, drug ingestion and family history should be taken and dermatologic and systemic examinations and, in some cases, laboratory investigations and biopsy should be performed. Consequently oral pigmentations can be caused by clinically insignificant, and sometimes can lead to very serious problems. Therefore, the dermatologists should be informed and aware about it all the time. In this article, the differential diagnosis, clinical, etiology, and histopathological features of oral pigmentation have been reviewed. Copyright © 2013 by Türkiye Klinikleri.