The

gingiva The gums or gingiva (plural: ''gingivae'') consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health. Structure The gums are part of the soft tissue l ...

often possess a textured surface that is referred to as being stippled (engraved points). Stippling only presents on the attached gingiva bound to underlying alveolar bone, not the freely moveable

alveolar mucosa The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane lining the inside of the mouth. It comprises stratified squamous epithelium, termed "oral epithelium", and an underlying connective tissue termed '' lamina propria''. The oral cavity has sometimes been des ...

or free gingiva. Stippling used to be thought to indicate health, but it has since been shown that smooth gingiva is not an indication of disease, unless it is smooth ''due to a loss'' of previously existing stippling. Stippling is a consequence of the microscopic elevations and depressions of the surface of the gingival tissue due to the connective tissue projections within the tissue. The degree of keratinization and the prominence of stippling appear to be related. To be more specific, stippling occurs at sites of fusion of the epithelial ridges (also known as rete pegs-depression of epithelium) and correspond to the fusion of the valleys created by the connective tissue papillae (elevation of connective tissue papilla. An example of stippling could be dots found in basketball or an orange.

References

Gingiva {{dentistry-stub