Oral changes associated with tobacco use.

Tobacco is a delivery system for the addictive agent nicotine. The dental profession is encouraged to perform oral examinations that focus on oral cancer detection, but other oral changes occur with tobacco use. The oral mucosa is composed of stratified squamous epithelium and masticatory/keratinized (hard palate, dorsum of the tongue, and keratinized gingival) and lining mucosa (floor of the mouth, ventrolateral surface of the tongue, soft palate complex, labial vestibule, and buccal mucosa).