title: Variations of structure and appearance of the oral mucosa.
abstract: Among the most important factors in a thorough clinical examination is the dentist's ability to recognize and make distinctions among normal oral structures, variations of normal structures, and pathologic entities. The practitioner's diagnostic acumen is essential to this process and is a skill gained and refined by clinical experience and continuing education. In this introductory article, the authors describe normal entities, anomalies, and benign soft tissue lesions of interest to the clinician. For presentation, these structures are organized according to their location within the oral cavity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Naval Postgraduate Dental School, National Naval Dental Center, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889, USA. thomas.canaan@sas.med.navy.mil
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Canaan
authors.forename: Sean C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Meehan
mesh_terms: D005096:Exostoses / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007967:Leukoedema, Oral / Q000473:pathology; D008046:Lip / Q000473:pathology; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000473:pathology; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000473:pathology