Stomatitis nicotina is an oral pathological condition that appears in the hard palate

Hard palate

The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth. It spans the arch formed by the upper teeth.It is formed by the palatine process of the maxilla and horizontal plate of palatine bone....

 of the mouth

Mouth

The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....

 as a white lesion

Lesion

A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...

. It is not considered to be premalignant and results from tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...

 (especially pipes or cigar

Cigar

A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...

s) or long-term drinking of very hot beverages. Nicotine stomatitis should not be confused with reverse smoker's palate, which is a severe form of palatal keratosis and caused from smoking a cigarette

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

 with the lit end inside the mouth.

The cause of nicotine stomatitis stems from the palate being exposed to very hot conditions. Pipe smoking

Pipe smoking

Pipe smoking is the practice of tasting or inhaling the smoke produced by burning a substance, most commonly tobacco, in a pipe. It is the oldest traditional form of smoking.-History:...

 produces more heat on the palate than any other form of smoking. The frequency of this condition depends on a society's use of consuming hot beverages and of smoking in its various forms. More commonly found in men over 45 years of age, it is characterized as a "fissured" or "dried mud" appearance from excess keratin

Keratin

Keratin refers to a family of fibrous structural proteins. Keratin is the key of structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. It is also the key structural component of hair and nails...

 production by cells

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

. The palate may appear gray or white and contain many papule

Papule

A papule is a circumscribed, solid elevation of skin with no visible fluid, varying in size from a pinhead to 1 cm.With regard to the quote "...varying in size from a pinhead to 1cm," depending on which text is referenced, some authors state the cutoff between a papule and a plaque as 0.5cm,...

s that are slightly elevated with red in their center. Furthermore, the teeth may be stained brown or black from tobacco smoke.

Microscopically, epithelial cells

Epithelium

Epithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...

 of the palate exhibit signs of hyperkeratosis

Hyperkeratosis

Hyperkeratosis is thickening of the stratum corneum, often associated with a qualitative abnormality of the keratin, and also usually accompanied by an increase also in the granular layer...

 and acanthosis. There may be metaplasia

Metaplasia

Metaplasia is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type. The change from one type of cell to another may generally be a part of normal maturation process or caused by some sort of abnormal stimulus...

 of excretory ducts, which results in the visible papules if the ducts become hyperplastic

Hyperplasia

Hyperplasia means increase in number of cells/proliferation of cells. It may result in the gross enlargement of an organ and the term is sometimes mixed with benign neoplasia/ benign tumor....

.

There is usually no treatment since there is no increased risk of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

. Immediate cessation of smoking may be advised in order to monitor lesion. Nicotine stomatitis should completely resolve on its own after 1 –2 weeks upon termination of smoking. If the lesion persists, a biopsy

Biopsy

A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...

may be done to confirm diagnosis.