Mucosal Colour Changes Flashcards
Causes of oral white lesions
- Hereditary
- Smoking/frictional
- Lichen planus
- Candidal leukoplakia
- Carcinoma
Thickening of mucosa/white lesion is caused by ____
Increase in keratin
Define leukoplakia
White patch can’t be scraped off or attributed to any other cause
1-5% become malignant
Diagnosis of exclusion
When to refer a white lesion
Becoming raised and thickened
Without a cause
Why are lesions red?
Blood flow increases
- Inflammation
- Dysplasia
- Reduced thickness of epithelium
Define erythroplakia
Red patch no cause
More concerning than leukoplakia
What is a fordyce spot?
Collection of normal sebaceous glands within the oral cavity
What is smokers keratosis
Premalignant process relating to trauma from tobacco
Leads to pathological production of keratin
What would you tell a pt with smokers keratosis
Low malignant potential of the lesion
BUT high oral cancer risk overall
Name an example of a hereditary keratosis
White sponge naves
Caused by defect in normal process of keratinisation
Caused by fluid between epithelial cells
List some localised causes of mucosal colour change
Amalgam
Malignant melanoma
Melanocytic naevus
List some generalised causes for mucosal colour change (5)
Race
Smoking
Drugs
Addisons disease - increased ACTH
Diet
