Color Changes and Spots in the Mouth

Bodywide (systemic) disease

Mouth conditions

Anemia Overview of Anemia Anemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells is low. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a protein that enables them to carry oxygen from the lungs and deliver it to all parts... read more (low blood count) may cause the lining of the mouth to be pale instead of the normal healthy reddish pink.

Measles Measles Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes various cold-like symptoms and a characteristic rash. Measles is caused by a virus. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, hacking cough... read more , a viral disease, can cause spots to form inside the cheeks. These spots, called Koplik spots, resemble tiny grains of grayish white sand surrounded by a red ring.

Addison disease Adrenal Insufficiency In adrenal insufficiency, the adrenal glands do not produce enough adrenal hormones. Adrenal insufficiency may be caused by a disorder of the adrenal glands, a disorder of the pituitary gland... read more and certain cancers (such as malignant melanoma Melanoma Melanoma is a skin cancer that begins in the pigment-producing cells of the skin (melanocytes). Melanomas can begin on normal skin or in existing moles. They may be irregular, flat or raised... read more ) can cause dark color changes.

In a person with AIDS, purplish patches caused by Kaposi sarcoma Kaposi Sarcoma Kaposi sarcoma is a skin cancer that causes multiple flat pink, red, or purple patches or bumps on the skin. It is caused by human herpesvirus type 8 infection. One or a few spots may appear... read more may appear on the palate.

Small red spots (called petechiae) on the palate (roof of the mouth) can be a sign of a blood disorder or infectious mononucleosis Infectious Mononucleosis Epstein-Barr virus causes a number of diseases, including infectious mononucleosis. The virus is spread through kissing. Symptoms vary, but the most common are extreme fatigue, fever, sore throat... read more .

The mouth may have dark blue or black areas due to silver amalgam from a dental filling, graphite from falling with a pencil in the mouth, or a mole.

Heavy cigarette smoking can lead to dark brown or black discoloration (usually of the gums) called smoker’s melanosis.

Brown areas in the mouth can be hereditary. For example, darkly pigmented areas are particularly common among dark-skinned and Mediterranean people.

Food pigments, aging, and smoking may cause teeth to darken or yellow.

Minocycline, an antibiotic, discolors bone, which may show through near the teeth as gray or brown. Children's teeth darken noticeably and permanently after even short-term use of tetracyclines (a class of antibiotic) by the mother during the second half of pregnancy or by the child during tooth development (specifically calcification of the crowns, which lasts until age 9).