Lipomas of the Oral Cavity

The benign soft tissue neoplasm of mature adipose tissue is known as lipoma. It is seen as a common entity in the head and neck region. Although lipomas are the most common tumors of mesenchymal origin in human body their occurrence in the oral cavity is rare. Intraoral lipomas may be noticed only during routine dental examination as most of them are asymptomatic and hence delay in seeking treatment. The etiology is still unclear. Various different theories explain the pathogenesis of this adipose tissue tumor. Based on histopathological findings, variants of oral lipoma have been identified. This article presents a comprehensive review of different types of lipomas of the oral cavity as it is important for an oral physician to diagnose intraoral lipomas and treat them conservatively.