Stomatitis nicotina palate that is caused by heat. As such, these sources tend to state that stomatitis nicotina is a premalignant condition. Some reports show that there is an increased risk of tonsillar cancer, lung cancer and tumors of the posterior oral cavity in people who develop stomatitis nicotina. The diagnosis is normally made based upon the clinical appearance and history. Tissue biopsy is not usually indicated unless there are areas of ulceration or localized erythroplakia (red patches). The differential diagnosis is with other causes of white lesions (see leukoplakia for a more complete discussion). Specific conditions which can produce a similar
Aphthous stomatitis oral ulceration, but this is secondary to the underlying medical condition (see the systemic disease section). This kind of ulceration is considered by some to be separate from true aphthous stomatitis. However, this definition is not strictly applied. For example, many sources refer to oral ulceration caused by anemia and/or nutritional deficiencies as aphthous stomatitis, and some also consider Behçet's disease to be a variant. The vast majority of people with aphthous stomatitis have minor symptoms and do not require any specific therapy. The pain is often tolerable with simple dietary modification during an episode of ulceration such as avoiding