Hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa caused by dietary beta carotene: a case report

Chronic ingestion of foods containing elevated levels of beta carotene, a common dietary staple endemic in West Africa, may promote the development of yellow to orange hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa and skin. This benign condition, known as carotenemia or hypercarotenemia, has received little attention in the general dental literature. The aim of this case report is to increase awareness of this phenomenon by describing the clinical presentation of a patient from Nigeria with conspicuous yellow discoloration of the floor of the mouth and soft palatal mucosa. Attending clinicians should seek clinicopathologic correlations of yellow mucocutaneous discoloration, most notably jaundice associated with hepatitis. In this case, the patient's normal liver biomarkers, absence of dermal manifestations, and high intake of beta carotene-rich foods led to a diagnosis of carotenemia.