title: Normal and locally induced oral pigmentations.
abstract: The classical description of normal gingivae as 'coral pink' in colour is both inadequate and misleading. The intra-oral soft tissues frequently exhibit pigmentation under normal conditions, the most commonly occurring pigmentations being of racial origin. A normal gamut of pigmentation of the gingivae may be said to range from pale pink to deep bluish purple and colour variations may be uniform, unilateral or bilateral, diffuse, mottled or macular. The distribution and amounts of melanin in the oral tissues can be affected by a number of abnormal and pathologic conditions, both local and general. A variety of possible causes of abnormal pigmentation--physical, chemical and biological--are described.
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010858:Pigmentation; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*