A

Epstein pearls are small keratin-filled inclusion cysts that appear on the mid-palatal raphe of neonates and are grouped with the transient “gingival/palatal cysts of the newborn,” disappearing spontaneously within weeks; they are unrelated to enamel pearls, adult gingival cysts, or epithelial rests [Ikemura, 1983, PMID 6679627; Madléna, 1992, PMID 1291329].