Maria Jose Garcia-Pola

Oral lichen planus: a clinical and morphometric study of oral lesions in relation to clinical presentation

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease with different clinical presentations that can be classified as reticular or atrophic-erosive. Sixty-two OLP patients were studied to evaluate the clinical-pathologic characteristics of their OLP lesions and to investigate possible differences in their biological behavior. The most common clinical presentation was the reticular type (62.9% vs 37.1%). Atrophic-erosive presentations showed significantly longer evolution (chi square=4.454; p=0.049), more extensive lesions (chi square=16.211; p=0.000) and more sites affected than reticular ones (chi square=10.048; p=0.002). Atrophic-erosive OLP was more frequently found on the tongue, gingiva and floor of the mouth. No statistically significant differences could be identified between reticular and atrophic-erosive clinical presentations in terms of age, sex, tobacco habit, plasma cortisol level and depth of inflammatory infiltrate. We concluded that the classification of OLP lesions as reticular vs atrophic-erosive is a simple, easy to use classification that can identify clinical presentations with different biological behavior.

Prevalence of black stain and associated risk factors in preschool Spanish children

In pediatric clinical practice, it is common to be asked about the presence of black stains on teeth in children and teenagers. According to controversial etiology, it is known to be related to a low rate of caries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of black stain and associated risk factors in Spanish preschool children.

Thyroid Disease and Oral Lichen Planus as Comorbidity: A Prospective Case-Control Study

Background: Thyroid disease has been mentioned to have a possible relation to the development of oral lichen planus (OLP). Objective: Because goiter is considered endemic in many countries, we proposed to determine whether thyroid disease constitutes a comorbidity of OLP. Methods: Two hundred and fifteen patients diagnosed as having OLP were evaluated concerning their serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroxine (T4) levels. The results were contrasted with those obtained in control series of the same number of subjects matched for age and sex. Results: Diagnosis of thyroid disease was present in 15.3% of OLP patients (33/215) and in 5.2% (12/215) of the control group. In relation to OLP patients, the odds ratio of presence of thyroid disorders was 3.06 and that of using levothyroxine medication 3.21. Conclusions: In the present study, OLP patients were associated with thyroid disease, specifically with hypothyroidism. Because most thyroid patients need T4 treatment, our findings confirmed that OLP and thyroid disease could be comorbidities.

The development of proliferative verrucous leukoplakia in oral lichen planus. A preliminary study.

Background Was to describe 14 cases of a proliferative verrucous leukoplakia as a clinical evolution of oral lichen planus. Material and Methods The clinical and histopathological characteristics of 14 cases of OLP that progress towards a plaque-like and verrucous form were indicated, with monitoring over a period of six to 24.3 years. Results The female/male ratio was 11/3, (78.6 and 21.4%). The mean age when the first biopsy was undertaken was 56.4 years old. None of the patients smoked during the study. As bilateral reticular was clinically diagnostic criterion, the second most frequent clinical form was the plaque form (n=10; 71.4%), followed by the atrophic (n=6; 42.8%), and erosive forms (n=4; 28.5%). Clinically it spread towards attached gingival mucosa and the hard palate. In the histopathologic study, there were a predominance of hyperkeratosis and verrucous epithelial hyperplasia. Three of the cases progressed to a squamous cell carcinoma, and one patient developed two verrucous carcinoma. Conclusions Further research is needed to demonstrate if proliferative multifocal oral lichen planus and proliferative multifocal oral leukoplakia are the same disorder but have different behaviour of malignancy for reasons of origin. Key words:Oral lichen planus, proliferative verrucous oral leukoplakia, malignant oral lichen planus, multifocal verrucous oral lichen planus, proliferative verrucous oral lichen planus.

Impacto de la salud oral en la calidad de vida de la gestante

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors that determine quality of life related to oral health (OHIP-14) in a population of pregnant women. METHODS This study included ninety pregnant women, 45 immigrants and 45 from Spain. Participants completed the Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire (OHIP-14) -Spanish version- and the DMFT index (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) was explored during the second trimester of pregnancy. A bivariate and multivariate analytical study was performed. RESULTS The average age of immigrant participants was 30.2, and of Spanish women 34.4. The mean OHIP-14 score was 5.83±6.57 (8.15 in the immigrant group and 3.51 in the Spanish group), showing a statistically significant difference (p=0.001). The highest OHIP-14 scores were related to pain (110), followed by psychological distress (81). Considering the median value in the OHIP-14 score as a cut-off (≥3), the odds ratio for oral health that interferes with quality of life was 3.294, and this risk was increased by caries (4.323) but not by age. CONCLUSIONS Since the DMFT could be one of the determining factors for worst quality of life in pregnant patients, more studies to corroborate this information are necessary in order to expand preventive expectations in the practice of oral health in relation to policies.