ORAL LICHEN PLANUS – A CLINICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

Lichen planus is one of the most common dermatologic 1 lesions to manifest in the oral cavity . The importance of understanding this disease lies in the fact that a large percentage of these cases present only oral lesions. Also the different clinical forms mimic some other more serious disease. The precise aetiology of lichen planus still remains unclear with recent works suggesting an autoimmune role. The skin lesions in lichen planus are distinctive and the primary lesion is a small, angular, flat-topped papule which may be discrete or gradually coalesce into large plaques.The oral lesions are highly variable and can be described as popular, annular, reticular, plaque, verrucuous, atrophic, 2 erosive, and ulcerative and vesiculo-bullous types .The main symptom is burning sensation of the affected areas.