ORAL LICHEN PLANE

ORAL LICHEN PLANE

What is it?

Oral Lichen Planus is a chronic inflammatory disease of the mouth.

It's a potentially malignant disease.

It starts at a point in the mouth and tends to spread through the mouth over the years.

It affects women and men (in a ratio of 1.4 to 1), usually appearing after 40 years of age.


hat are the signs and symptoms?

  • Stretch marks or white lesions on the oral mucosa (cheeks, tongue, lips, gums).
  • Tongue loses taste buds in whiter areas.
  • Erosions, ulcerations or canker sores.
  • White and red lesions with a cold sore in the middle.
  • Crises of burning, pain and erosions or ulcerations (thrush).
  • Difficulty in eating, performing oral hygiene and speaking.
  • In 20% of cases there are also skin lesions, which are very itchy.


Can it become malignant?

Some forms of oral lichen planus are potentially malignant.

The malignancy rate is 1 to 2%.


Can it be treated?

Yes.


The new guidelines for the treatment of lichen planus are recent, from 2019.

The treatment aims to:

  • Prevent the crises
  • Deal with crises
  • Decrease pain and treat thrush
  • Treat any infections, for example fungal
  • Teaching the factors that can induce Oral Lichen Plane crises and ways to avoid these agents


Key Points:

  • Oral hygiene must be performed with specific products
  • You should avoid mouthwashes that contain alcohol
  • Your diet has to be adapted to the disease Lichen Planus Oral
  • The treatment has a schedule which was updated in 2019 with new scientific evidence


Contact Endoscopy in Oral Lichen Planus

Contact Endoscopy is a non-invasive, painless exam, through which it is possible to identify which cells and microvessels in the mouth are suspicious, as Oral Lichen Planus is a potentially malignant disease.


Contact Endoscopy shows us:

  • Whether a biopsy is needed or whether it is safe to carry out surveillance alone.
  • Where to perform the biopsy.
  • If there is fungal superinfection.


Since Oral Lichen Planus is a potentially malignant disease, it requires long-term follow-up via Oral Medicine consultation, and Contact Endoscopy is a fundamental exam to perform the follow-up for those with this mouth disease.

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