pigmentation of oral mucosa in Bangladeshi population, with special reference to tobacco habits. Oral Med Pathol 2005; 10: 57-61, ISSN 1342-0984 Abnormal melanin pigmentation of the oral mucosa has been linked to smoking and has been designated smoker melanosis. Since the incidence of smoker melanosis varies among races, we investigated the incidence of melanin pigmentation in 280 Bangladeshi individuals. The incidence of melanin pigmentation was 82.0% in the smoker group and 58.3% in the

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... oker group. Melanin pigmentation frequently occurred in participants aged from 20-49 years old in the smoker group, while it occurred in participants aged from 30-59 years old in the nonsmoker group. Gingiva and buccal mucosa were frequently affected sites in both the smoker and non-smoker groups. The smoker group had tendency to show more intense melanin pigmentation than that in the non-smoker group. Since the present study is the first extensive survey of smoker melanosis in Bangladesh, these results provide important information for investigating the effects of smoking habits on melanin pigmentation of the oral mucosa among various ethnic groups.