Synonyms
Smokeless tobacco keratosis; Snuff dipper’s lesion; Spit tobacco keratosis; Tobacco pouch keratosis
Definition
A lesion due to the use of smokeless tobacco, used as snuff/spit or chewing tobacco. The development of the lesion is influenced by the type of smokeless tobacco, the amount of tobacco used, the brand of tobacco, and the duration of the contact between tobacco and oral mucosa.
Clinically it is characterized by a white or gray-white, translucent lesion at the site where the smokeless tobacco is held in the oral cavity. The alterations can be graded by a 3- (Greer and Poulson) or 4- (Axèll, Mörnstad, Sundström) grade system, depending on the amount of color change, wrinkling, and thickening of the mucosa.
Clinical Features
Incidence
Estimated prevalence of 6 % with in some areas of southeastern United States of 21 %.
A white lesion is present in 15 % of chewing tobacco users and 60 % of snuff/spit tobacco users. In India smokeless tobacco may be combined with other...
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References and Further Reading
Axèll, T., Mörnstad, H., & Sundström, B. (1976). The relationship of the clinical picture to the histopathology of snuff dipper’s lesions in a Swedish population. J Oral Pathol, 5, 229–236.
Greer, R. O., & Poulson, T. C. (1983). Oral tissue alterations associated with the use of smokeless tobacco by teenagers. Oral Surg, 56, 275–284.
Kaugars, G. E., Riley, W. T., Brandt, R. B., et al. (1992). The prevalence of oral lesions in smokeless tobacco users and an evaluation of risk factors. Cancer, 70, 2579–2585.
Taybos, G. (2003). Oral changes associated with tobacco use. Am J Med Sci, 326, 179–182.
Warnakulasuriya, K. A., & Ralhan, R. (2007). Clinical, pathological, cellular and molecular lesions caused by oral smokeless tobacco – a review. J Oral Pathol Med, 36, 63–77.
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© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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van der Wal, J.E. (2016). Smoker’s Keratosis. In: Slootweg, P.J. (eds) Dental and Oral Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28085-1_778
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28085-1_778
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28085-1
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