Solitary pigmented lesions in oral mucosa in Latin American children: A case series

BackgroundA variety of local and systemic processes caused exogenous and endogenous pigmentation of the oral mucosa. Solitary melanotic pigmentation is rare, hence the scarce number of studies in children and adolescents. MethodsClinical and histopathologic features of 10 Latin American children with solitary pigmented lesions of the oral mucosa were reviewed. ResultsThe area most affected was the gingiva, followed by the palate. All lesions were flat and <1 cm in diameter. A brown color was observed in oral melanocytic macules and nevi. The exogenously pigmented lesion was bluish gray. Histopathology showed that the biopsied lesions corresponded to melanotic macules, junctional nevus, blue nevus, and exogenous pigmentation. ConclusionSolitary pigmented lesions on the oral mucosa of children, from melanin pigment or exogenous pigment, may have a similar clinical presentation, but melanotic lesions such as oral melanotic macules and nevi can be differentiated from one another only with histopathologic examination.