Oral mucosa lichen planus: clinical forms, treatment

Despite the fact that lichen planus was firstly described over 150 years ago, the disease still remains an important issue of clinical dentistry. The article reviews the clinical features of various forms of oral mucosa and vermilion border lichen planus: typical, hyperkeratotic, exudative and hyperemic, erosive with ulcerations, bullous and atypical. The main pathologic element in all forms of lichen planus is papule of milky white or grayish color. Papules may be single or merge into intricate carvings forming lace, mesh, fern leaves (Wickham mesh). Compared with skin forms, oral mucous membrane lesions are more resistant to medical treatment and rarely undergo spontaneous remission. Treatment of lichen planus is a difficult task because the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease is not completely understood. This article reviews the methods and drugs used to treat oral mucosa lichen planus, and their side effects. At the moment, no single method of treating lichen planus can be considered as a cure. Existing comprehensive treatments help to reduce severity of the disease, which is seen as prolongation of remission, reduction of terms of pathological elements epithelialization, reduction of their number and size. To achieve consistent results in the treatment of oral mucosa lichen planus, complex treatment should be periodically repeated. Selection of optimal methods of general and local therapy should be based on an individual approach to each patient.