Chronic ulcers, oral erosion, pain, gingival congestion, difficulty in eating... These symptoms may indicate an invasion of oral lichen planus! Associate Professor Xia Juan from the Department of Oral Mucosa at the Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University stated that Guangdong is a region with a high incidence of oral lichen planus. The disease has a familial genetic tendency and often occurs alongside hepatitis populations. If hepatitis is not treated and only lichen planus is tackled, not only will the local effect be poor, but it will also be prone to recurrence.
According to the introduction, oral lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that occurs in the superficial dermis and can also invade oral mucosa. It is often manifested as asymptomatic, poorly defined lesions on the tongue margin and edentulous gum mucosa, initially appearing as grayish-white lines, which later can become network-like or lace-like, followed by lesion fusion and enlargement. Patients often report superficial erosion of the oral mucosa accompanied by pain.
Xia Juan introduced that the cause of lichen planus is currently not fully understood, and both young people and the elderly may be affected, with a certain degree of familial heredity. She pointed out that even if it recurs frequently, the possibility of oral lichen planus transforming into cancer is still very small, so patients do not need to worry excessively.
Xia Juan pointed out that there is one prominent feature of this disease: many oral lichen planus patients are also accompanied by chronic liver diseases, and with the increasing number of hepatitis patients, the population suffering from this disease is also increasing. Primary biliary cirrhosis, alcoholic cirrhosis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C can all trigger lichen planus. "Generally speaking, hepatitis precedes lichen planus, so those with oral lichen planus should check for hepatitis because if hepatitis is not treated simultaneously, focusing solely on lichen planus may lead to easy recurrence." She indicated that treating hepatitis at the same time significantly improves the condition of lichen planus locally. "Not only for this group of people, but anyone who has been infected with the hepatitis virus should avoid various irritants in their daily lives, and smoking and drinking should be avoided as much as possible to prevent the onset of lichen planus," said Xia Juan.