Smoker's melanosis

Smoker's melanosis
Smoker's melanosis in gums base

Smoker's melanosis is seen with the naked eye as a brown to black pigmentation of the oral tissue i.e. the gums,[1] cheeks or palate[2] as well as in larynx.[3][4] It is most often seen in the lower labial gingiva of tobacco users. Most easily it is found in Caucasians, due to their lack of a genetically caused melanin pigmentation.[5][6]

The brown to black colour is melanin. In skin, melanin prevents harmful UV-light from reaching deeper, sensible parts of the tissue. If UV-light penetrates deeply, some of the toxic substances caused by UV-light damage to cells are bound to melanin in the epithelial cells and travel with the ageing cells to the skin surface, where they are expelled from the tissue surface. In this way the melanocytes and keratinocytes together protect the tissue, with melanin serving as a toxic defence and cleaning agent.

In the oral mucosa, where the ageing epithelial cells move faster to the surface compared to skin, a similar defence-mechanism seems to be present, cleaning the mucosa from different toxic chemicals penetrating the epithelium. Besides chemicals in tobacco also antimalaria-drugs cause an oral pigmentation. Smoker's melanosis is like the genetic melanin pigmentations, a defence-system in action.

The microscope shows smoker's melanosis to be characterized by a melanin hyperpigmentation of the lower part of the oral epithelium, similar to sun-tanned skin. The hyperpigmentation consists of melanin granules which have the shape and colour of "coffea beans". They are produced by the dendritic, octopus-like melanocytes, seen between the epithelial cells situated closest to the epithelium/connective tissue border.[7]

In tobacco-users the melanocytes are stimulated to produce melanin granules and to distribute them out to the surrounding epithelial cells for further transport to the mucosal surface, like the mechanism in melanin-pigmented skin.

Small amounts of melanin-like granules together with other electron-dense particles can also be seen within large melanosome complexes in the underlying connective tissue.[8] If the granules derive from the epithelium, a phenomenon known as melanin incontinence, is not known.[9] In Caucasians these granules are not expected to influence on the clinically observed degree of smoker's melanosis.

  1. ^ Hedin CA: Smoker's Melanosis. An epidemiologic, morphologic and experimental study of oral melanin pigmentation caused by tobacco. Thesis, University of Lund, Sweden 1986.
  2. ^ Axéll T, Hedin CA: Epidemiologic study of excessive oral melanin pigmentation with special reference to the influence of tobacco habits. Scand J Dent Res 1982; 90:434-442.
  3. ^ Gonzalez-Vela MC, Fernandez FA, Mayorga M, Rodriguez-Iglesias J, Val-Bernal JF: Laryngeal melanosis: report of four cases and literature review. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1997; 117:708-712.
  4. ^ Cordes S, Halum S, Hansen L: Laryngeal melanosis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2013; 149:733-738.
  5. ^ Hedin CA: Smoker's Melanosis. Occurrence and localization in the attached gingiva. Arch Dermatol 1977; 113:1533-1538.
  6. ^ https://commons.wikimedia.orgview_image.php?q=Smoker's_melanosis&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Smokers_melanosis.jpg [dead link‍]
  7. ^ Hedin CA, Larsson Å: The ultrastructure of the gingival epithelium in smoker's melanosis. J Periodont Res 1984; 19:177-190.
  8. ^ Hedin CA, Larsson Å: Large melanosome complexes in the human gingival epithelium. J Periodont Res 1987; 22:108-113.
  9. ^ Sapp JP, Eversole LR, Wysock GPi: Contemporary Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. Chapter 6 - Epithelial Disorders. Published by Mosby,1997; St. Louis, MO.