What causes dark spots in the mouth? How can they be treated? Get the answers to these questions and more in this comprehensive guide.

Identifying the Causes of Dark Spots in the Mouth

A dark spot or dot on the inside of the cheek can be a concerning sight, but it is not necessarily a sign of something serious. There are a variety of harmless conditions that can cause discoloration in the mouth, such as moles, hyperpigmentation, and leakage from dental fillings. In rare cases, however, a dark spot may be a symptom of a more serious condition, such as oral melanoma.

Common Causes of Dark Spots in the Mouth

Oral Nevi

Oral nevi are small, brown, bluish-gray, or almost black dots that can appear inside the mouth. They are usually slightly raised and are more common on the roof of the mouth or inner lip, but they can also form on the cheeks. Oral nevi do not typically cause any symptoms and do not require treatment, but a biopsy may be recommended to rule out melanoma.

Blood Blisters

Blood blisters are sacs of fluid that fill with blood and can range in color from purple to dark red. They commonly form when the skin in the mouth gets pinched and are often painful when touched or when eating spicy foods. Most blood blisters do not require treatment and will heal on their own, but if they persist for more than 2 weeks or become a recurring problem, it is a good idea to see a doctor.

Melanotic Macules

Oral melanotic macules are areas of hyperpigmentation that can be as small as 0.04 of an inch or as large as a quarter of an inch in diameter. These spots are typically flat and have a well-defined border. While they are noncancerous, a biopsy may be recommended to rule out melanoma.

Causes of Larger Dark Spots in the Mouth

Leakage from Dental Fillings

Amalgam is a material made of mercury, tin, zinc, silver, and copper that has been used for over 150 years in dental fillings. Amalgam tattoos, which are leakages from these dental fillings, can appear as dark blue, gray, or black spots, usually located next to a filling. These tattoos are relatively common and do not require treatment, but they are permanent unless removed with laser surgery.

Smoker’s Melanosis

Smoking can leave blotchy stains called smoker’s melanosis inside the cheeks and gums. This condition affects about 22% of smokers and does not cause any symptoms. While the stains can be removed with laser treatment or electrosurgery, the best course of action is to quit smoking.

Rare Causes of Dark Spots in the Mouth

Oral Melanoma

In extremely rare cases, a dark spot inside the cheek may be a sign of oral melanoma, a type of skin cancer that affects pigmented cells called melanocytes. Oral melanoma is most common in its early stages, where it often has minimal symptoms and appears as a dark brown to blue-black spot. Treatment for oral melanoma may include surgery, immunotherapy, radiation, or drug therapy.

Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a condition that causes noncancerous growths called polyps in the intestines and stomach. Children with this condition often develop dark spots on their lips, inside their mouth, near their eyes and nose, and around their anus. The spots usually fade with age, but the condition can also lead to complications such as pain, bleeding, or bowel obstruction.

Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease, or adrenal insufficiency, is a deficiency of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands. One of the symptoms of Addison’s disease is hyperpigmented blotches of skin inside the mouth, along with other symptoms such as extreme fatigue, weight loss, salt cravings, low blood sugar, and hyperpigmentation. Medication can be used to replace the missing hormones.

When to See a Doctor

If you notice a dark spot or dot on the inside of your cheek, it is a good idea to have it examined by a medical professional, especially if it is accompanied by other symptoms or if it persists for more than 2 weeks. While many causes of dark spots in the mouth are harmless, it is important to rule out more serious conditions, such as oral melanoma or other underlying health issues.

Conclusion

Dark spots in the mouth can have a variety of causes, ranging from harmless conditions like moles and hyperpigmentation to more serious conditions like oral melanoma. By understanding the common causes and symptoms, you can be better equipped to identify and address any dark spots that you may notice in your mouth. If you have any concerns, it is always best to consult with a medical professional.

Causes and What Needs to Be Treated

Finding a black spot or dot on the inside of your cheek can be alarming, but it’s not necessarily a sign of something serious.

A variety of harmless conditions can cause discoloration in your mouth, such as moles, hyperpigmentation, and leakage from your dental fillings.

In extremely rare cases, a black spot may be a sign of a type of cancer called oral melanoma. Oral melanoma accounts for about 1.6 percent of cancers of the head or neck, and less than 1 percent of all melanomas, according to The Oral Cancer Foundation.

Keep reading to find out what may be causing a black spot on the inside your cheek and when you should see your doctor.

The following conditions may cause a black dot, a small, circular mark, to form on the inside of your cheek.

Oral nevi

Oral nevi are small brown, bluish gray, or almost black dots that can appear inside your mouth. Nevi is a medical term for moles (nevus is singular).

Oral nevi are usually slightly raised. They’re more common on the roof of the mouth or inner lip, but they can also form on the cheeks. They usually don’t cause any symptoms.

No treatment is usually necessary for an oral nevus, and there are no reports of an oral nevus becoming cancerous. However, your doctor or dentist may still recommend getting a biopsy to make sure it’s indeed a nevus and not melanoma.

Blood blister

Blood blisters are sacs of fluid that fill with blood. They can range in color from purple to dark red. They commonly form when the skin in your mouth gets pinched.

Blood blisters are often big enough that you can feel them with your tongue. They most often form on the soft parts of your mouth, like your cheek or inner lips. They’re typically painful when touched, or if you eat spicy food.

The majority of blood blisters don’t last long and don’t need treatment if you leave them alone. But if the blood blister lasts for more than 2 weeks or becomes a reoccurring problem, it’s a good idea to visit your doctor.

Melanotic macules

Oral melanotic macules are areas of hyperpigmentation that average about a quarter of an inch in diameter. They can be as small as 0.04 of an inch. These spots are typically flat and have a well-defined border.

Oral melanotic macules are noncancerous, but your doctor may recommend a biopsy to rule out melanoma.

The following are potential causes of dark spots on the inside of your cheek. Spots can vary in size but they are larger than a dot.

Leakage from a dental filling

Amalgam is a material made of mercury, tin, zinc, silver, and copper. It’s been used for more than 150 years for dental fillings.

Amalgam tattoos are leakages from these dental fillings. They’re relatively common and usually appear dark blue, gray, or black. They’re most often located next to a filling.

Amalgam tattoos don’t cause any symptoms and don’t need treatment. They’re permanent unless removed with laser surgery.

Smoker’s melanosis

Smoking can leave blotchy stains called smoker’s melanosis inside your cheeks and gums. About 22 percent of people who smoke have this staining.

These stains don’t cause symptoms and don’t need treatment. However, your doctor will likely recommend a biopsy to rule out other conditions. The stains can be removed with laser treatment or electrosurgery.

Oral cancer

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that affects pigmented cells called melanocytes.

Melanoma is most common on parts of your skin frequently exposed to sunlight, but it can also form in your mouth and nose. In extremely rare cases, a dark spot inside your cheek may be a sign of oral melanoma.

In its early stages, oral melanoma often has minimal symptoms. It usually manifests as a dark brown to blue-black spot. It can also be unpigmented or white. In its late stages, the spot may be accompanied by pain, ulcers, and bleeding.

The average age of diagnosis of oral melanoma is 56. Oral cancer is twice as common in men as women.

Treatment for oral melanoma may include:

• surgery
• immunotherapy
• radiation
• drug therapy

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a condition that causes noncancerous growths called polyps in the intestines and stomach.

Children who develop this condition also commonly develop dark spots on their lips, inside their mouth, near their eyes and nose, and around their anus. The spots usually fade with age.

People with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome also often develop complications such as pain, bleeding, or bowel obstruction.

There’s no current cure for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, but surgery can remove the polyps in the digestive tract.

Addison’s disease

Addison’s disease, or adrenal insufficiency, is a deficiency of the hormones produced by your adrenal glands. One of the symptoms of Addison’s disease is hyperpigmented blotches of skin inside your mouth.

Other symptoms include:

• extreme fatigue
• weight loss
• salt cravings
• low blood sugar
• hyperpigmentation

You can take medication to replace the hormones your adrenal glands can’t produce by themselves.

Even though the chances of developing oral melanoma is very low, it’s good practice to see your doctor whenever you notice an abnormally colored spot or dot in your mouth.

It’s especially important to get the spot checked if you’re older than 55 years. Older adults have a higher risk for developing oral cancer.

Your doctor may use the following tests to help confirm a diagnosis of the dark spot inside your cheek:

• Physical inspection. Your doctor may be able to identify the spot during a physical examination simply based on its appearance.
• Biopsy. During a biopsy, your doctor will cut away a small piece of the spot and send it to a lab for analysis.
• Blood test. Your doctor may administer a blood test measuring your potassium, cortisol, and ACTH hormone levels if they suspect Addison’s disease.

Finding a dark spot or dot in your mouth is unlikely to be a sign of cancer. However, it’s still a good idea to show it to your doctor or dentist. If it does turn out to be cancerous, getting an early diagnosis and treatment can improve your outlook.

Causes and What Needs to Be Treated

Finding a black spot or dot on the inside of your cheek can be alarming, but it’s not necessarily a sign of something serious.

A variety of harmless conditions can cause discoloration in your mouth, such as moles, hyperpigmentation, and leakage from your dental fillings.

In extremely rare cases, a black spot may be a sign of a type of cancer called oral melanoma. Oral melanoma accounts for about 1.6 percent of cancers of the head or neck, and less than 1 percent of all melanomas, according to The Oral Cancer Foundation.

Keep reading to find out what may be causing a black spot on the inside your cheek and when you should see your doctor.

The following conditions may cause a black dot, a small, circular mark, to form on the inside of your cheek.

Oral nevi

Oral nevi are small brown, bluish gray, or almost black dots that can appear inside your mouth. Nevi is a medical term for moles (nevus is singular).

Oral nevi are usually slightly raised. They’re more common on the roof of the mouth or inner lip, but they can also form on the cheeks. They usually don’t cause any symptoms.

No treatment is usually necessary for an oral nevus, and there are no reports of an oral nevus becoming cancerous. However, your doctor or dentist may still recommend getting a biopsy to make sure it’s indeed a nevus and not melanoma.

Blood blister

Blood blisters are sacs of fluid that fill with blood. They can range in color from purple to dark red. They commonly form when the skin in your mouth gets pinched.

Blood blisters are often big enough that you can feel them with your tongue. They most often form on the soft parts of your mouth, like your cheek or inner lips. They’re typically painful when touched, or if you eat spicy food.

The majority of blood blisters don’t last long and don’t need treatment if you leave them alone. But if the blood blister lasts for more than 2 weeks or becomes a reoccurring problem, it’s a good idea to visit your doctor.

Melanotic macules

Oral melanotic macules are areas of hyperpigmentation that average about a quarter of an inch in diameter. They can be as small as 0.04 of an inch. These spots are typically flat and have a well-defined border.

Oral melanotic macules are noncancerous, but your doctor may recommend a biopsy to rule out melanoma.

The following are potential causes of dark spots on the inside of your cheek. Spots can vary in size but they are larger than a dot.

Leakage from a dental filling

Amalgam is a material made of mercury, tin, zinc, silver, and copper. It’s been used for more than 150 years for dental fillings.

Amalgam tattoos are leakages from these dental fillings. They’re relatively common and usually appear dark blue, gray, or black. They’re most often located next to a filling.

Amalgam tattoos don’t cause any symptoms and don’t need treatment. They’re permanent unless removed with laser surgery.

Smoker’s melanosis

Smoking can leave blotchy stains called smoker’s melanosis inside your cheeks and gums. About 22 percent of people who smoke have this staining.

These stains don’t cause symptoms and don’t need treatment. However, your doctor will likely recommend a biopsy to rule out other conditions. The stains can be removed with laser treatment or electrosurgery.

Oral cancer

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that affects pigmented cells called melanocytes.

Melanoma is most common on parts of your skin frequently exposed to sunlight, but it can also form in your mouth and nose. In extremely rare cases, a dark spot inside your cheek may be a sign of oral melanoma.

In its early stages, oral melanoma often has minimal symptoms. It usually manifests as a dark brown to blue-black spot. It can also be unpigmented or white. In its late stages, the spot may be accompanied by pain, ulcers, and bleeding.

The average age of diagnosis of oral melanoma is 56. Oral cancer is twice as common in men as women.

Treatment for oral melanoma may include:

• surgery
• immunotherapy
• radiation
• drug therapy

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a condition that causes noncancerous growths called polyps in the intestines and stomach.

Children who develop this condition also commonly develop dark spots on their lips, inside their mouth, near their eyes and nose, and around their anus. The spots usually fade with age.

People with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome also often develop complications such as pain, bleeding, or bowel obstruction.

There’s no current cure for Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, but surgery can remove the polyps in the digestive tract.

Addison’s disease

Addison’s disease, or adrenal insufficiency, is a deficiency of the hormones produced by your adrenal glands. One of the symptoms of Addison’s disease is hyperpigmented blotches of skin inside your mouth.

Other symptoms include:

• extreme fatigue
• weight loss
• salt cravings
• low blood sugar
• hyperpigmentation

You can take medication to replace the hormones your adrenal glands can’t produce by themselves.

Even though the chances of developing oral melanoma is very low, it’s good practice to see your doctor whenever you notice an abnormally colored spot or dot in your mouth.

It’s especially important to get the spot checked if you’re older than 55 years. Older adults have a higher risk for developing oral cancer.

Your doctor may use the following tests to help confirm a diagnosis of the dark spot inside your cheek:

• Physical inspection. Your doctor may be able to identify the spot during a physical examination simply based on its appearance.
• Biopsy. During a biopsy, your doctor will cut away a small piece of the spot and send it to a lab for analysis.
• Blood test. Your doctor may administer a blood test measuring your potassium, cortisol, and ACTH hormone levels if they suspect Addison’s disease.

Finding a dark spot or dot in your mouth is unlikely to be a sign of cancer. However, it’s still a good idea to show it to your doctor or dentist. If it does turn out to be cancerous, getting an early diagnosis and treatment can improve your outlook.

Lentigo in animals – Veterinary Clinic IEC “Two Hearts” in St.

Petersburg

Vet clinic

Articles

Lentigo in animals

Lentigo is a skin defect that is manifested by the appearance of dark spots with a diameter of less than 1 cm on the gums, lips, nose, ears. These spots are nothing more than an accumulation of melanocytes (cells that produce melanin pigment) at the junction of the epidermis and dermis. The causes of the phenomenon have not been established, but the hereditary factor of its development has already been confirmed.

Lentigo is more common in dogs than cats. Cats tend to be carriers of orange, cream or tortoiseshell coats.

Lentigo simplex in cats is considered a congenital cosmetic defect. Most often manifested in cats up to a year.

The lesions begin to appear on the lips in the form of small spots, which eventually increase in size and become more numerous. Usually there are one or more foci. But there have also been cases of generalized lesions in cats (lentigo profus)

In some breeds of dogs, in particular pugs, cases of a hereditary form of lentigo, called “profuse lentigo”, are recorded. This is a genetic disease. Miniature Schnauzers may also be predisposed to this pathology. In pugs, spots initially appear between 1 and 4 years of age. The lesions are at first single, slightly elevated patches that do not itch or bother the animal. They are found on the legs and trunk. Over time, the spots can grow up to 1 cm and merge with each other. In the future, the intensity of staining weakens.

Despite the fact that lentigo does not pose a threat to the health and life of the animal, it is necessary to exclude other skin diseases that can manifest as hyperpigmentation:

• Spots can form against the background of an inflammatory process of various etiologies.
• In places of mechanical friction when a bacterial, viral, fungal component or parasites are attached. In this case, the color of the coat changes, becomes dull.
• In other cases, hyperpigmentation is associated with foci of alopecia (alopecia). In these places, the skin may become dark.
• In animals, as in humans, papillomavirus skin lesions occur. In the initial stages, they can masquerade as hyperpigmentation. The course of the disease is unpredictable. Education can disappear without a trace on its own, or it can develop into a malignant tumor.

If you have any doubts about the health of your pet, it is better to visit a veterinary dermatologist. In controversial cases, the doctor will take a biopsy (tissue sample) from the pathological focus to clarify the diagnosis.

Health to you and your pets! 9 0040

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The child has stains on the teeth, what to do

Changes in the child’s teeth are a serious symptom that signals the need to visit the dentist. What color are the stains on the teeth, what can they signal and what should be done first? Fast dental care for stains on your child’s teeth!

Yellow spots on the teeth

Yellow spots are due to tartar, trauma, caries, and problems during childbearing and living conditions. Often the problem occurs in the youngest children (under one year). These include hygienic violations and dry air, in which he is forced to constantly be.

In any case, regardless of the cause of this pathology, it is necessary to consult a dentist. Regular brushing, dental check-ups, and flossing can reduce the risk. It is also recommended to have your teeth professionally cleaned at the dentist’s office twice a year. Significantly increases the effectiveness of prevention exclusion from the diet of foods that contribute to the destruction of teeth. A similar pathology can also occur in adults.

White spots on tooth enamel

They are caused by intrauterine development disorders. Their immediate causes are a weakening of the immune system, an excess of fluoride in the body (read about fluorosis), caries and mechanical damage to tooth enamel. The reason for the appearance of such spots is often malnutrition. For prevention, you should brush your teeth (or at least rinse your mouth) after each meal. Once every six months, tartar should be removed and, if necessary, remineralization should be carried out.

A disease that causes stains on the teeth

A disease of the teeth that manifests itself in the form of multi-colored spots on their surface is called hypoplasia . The disease appears even during the period of bearing the future patient of the dental office. It develops in a child if the mother, during pregnancy, had stomach problems, and she also had a lack of vitamin D or she was exposed to a viral disease.

In such cases, it is necessary to increase the immunity of the child and change his diet. First of all, it is required to exclude the possibility of excessive amounts of fluorine entering the body. To do this, you should abandon the toothpaste with its high content. You need to give your child only purified (bottled or filtered) water to drink, and also give him more vitamins, vegetables and fruits.

With the development of the disease, which is expressed in the appearance of new spots and an increase in the area of ​​existing ones, remineralization is necessary. The procedure consists in the dentist covering the teeth with a special paste containing substances designed to strengthen the enamel. With hypoplasia, identified before reaching the age of eighteen, fluoridation or silvering is also performed.

Black spots

Tooth decay of this nature can have several causes. One of them is Priestley plaque , most often caused by disturbances in the microflora of the children’s intestines. As a result, both milk and molars are destroyed by bacteria. The disease is treated only by medication.

Black spots can also be caused by the development of caries. Blackening of the teeth is often the result of a lack of calcium in the body. For prevention, you need to reduce the amount of sugar consumed.

In addition, calcium levels can be increased by giving the baby more milk and using vitamin complexes prescribed by the dentist.

Much less often, but it is still possible to inherit this pathology from parents. Therefore, the child should have personal cutlery (at least a spoon and fork).

Brown spots

Similar manifestations on tooth enamel are also caused by the development of hypoplasia. The disease, in general, is very common and, according to some estimates, up to 40% of children suffer from it.

The causes of hypoplasia, in contrast to caries that destroy the still growing teeth, are complications during pregnancy or trauma upon birth. It can also develop due to malnutrition, digestive problems and damage to tooth enamel.

For prevention, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the mother’s teeth.