Have Discoloration In Mouth Due To Smoke. Can This Be Cured?

Posted on Thu, 19 Sep 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 Answered on

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have discoloration in my mouth due to smoke. Can this be cured

Answered by Dr. Kalpana Pathak (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Please quit smoking

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for writing to us.
Nicotine present in smoke can lead to increased pigmentation of lips or oral mucosa. This is known as smoker's melanosis.
Cessation of smoking usually reverses the process in few years time. As such there is no medication that would reduce the pigmentation unless smoking is completely stopped. If the pigmentation is present over lip, you may try applying hydroquinone or kojic acid cream once in a day and use a lip balm with sun protection factor to reduce pigmentation. If its in oral cavity, unfortunately nothing can be done

Hope this helped.
Take care

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E