Palle Holmstrup

Oral Lichen Planus and Malignant Transformation: Is a Recall of Patients Justified?

There has been a continuous debate regarding the possible malignant potential of oral lichen planus (OLP). Based on the results from follow-up studies, OLP is regarded by several authors as a pre-malignant condition, and patients with OLP have been recommended to have their lesions monitored two to four times annually. This recommendation needs reconsideration, because a recall system of all patients with OLP requires substantial economic resources. In a reality where such resources are limited, a recall system must be weighed against other benefits and the fact that the malignant potential of OLP is most likely very low. The present review focuses on the diagnostic criteria for OLP, the pre-malignant potential of OLP, and the extent to which the available information can be used to reduce morbidity and mortality of oral cancer related to OLP.

Effect of dental plaque control on gingival lichen planus.

Eleven patients, all women, aged 43 to 76 years, with atrophic or ulcerative lichen planus lesions of gingiva were included in this preliminary study. After initial examination, the patients received an intensive individual hygiene treatment. The patients continued using the most appropriate, atraumatic method resulting in the best possible oral hygiene over a 1 year period during which they were seen for follow-up examinations at 3-month intervals. The mean plaque scores decreased after the initial treatment followed by an increase. The mean scores for severity of subjective symptoms and for type and extension of lesions initially decreased with the plaque scores and remained lower throughout the study. It is concluded that in some cases both subjective and objective improvement of atrophic and ulcerative gingival lichen planus may be obtained by means of intensive oral hygiene procedures although such procedures do not remove the basic cause of lichen planus. However, further studies are needed to examine the role of dental plaque control in patients with oral lichen planus.

Yeast species and biotypes associated with oral leukoplakia and lichen planus.

Of 36 patients, 17 had oral leukoplakia, including homogeneous and nonhomogeneous types, and 19 had reticular lesions of oral lichen planus. A sample of yeast flora in each patient was taken from the pathologic lesion as well as from normal-appearing mucosa. The isolated yeasts were identified according to species level, and identification was extended beyond the species level for one species, Candida albicans, to reveal the biotype by means of the Odds and Abbott procedure comprising tests for acid and salt tolerance, proteinase production, resistance to 5-fluorocytosine and safranine, and assimilation of urea, sorbose, and citrate. Yeasts were present in the lesions of 82% of leukoplakia patients, compared to 37% of lichen planus patients, a frequency of yeasts corresponding to that in healthy adults. C. albicans was the dominating species in lesions of both diseases, constituting 82% of all yeasts in the leukoplakia lesions. In addition, the following species were identified: Candida tropicalis, Candida pintolopesii, Torulopsis glabrata, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Eighteen biotypes of C. albicans were encountered, the most frequently occurring biotypes being 355 and 177. Differences between C. albicans biotypes isolated from pathologic and normal mucosa were encountered in five of eleven leukoplakia patients and in one of three lichen planus patients. This indicates that the oral cavity comprises several ecologic niches for yeasts. As nonhomogeneous leukoplakias are more likely to develop into carcinoma than are homogeneous leukoplakias, it is interesting to note that the C. albicans biotypes isolated from nodular lesions (one type of nonhomogeneous leukoplakia)--biotypes 145, 175, and 575--rarely occur.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Surgical treatment of premalignant lesions of the oral mucosa.

Abstract Oral premalignant lesions were treated by surgical excision in 61 patients. Criteria for inclusion in the study were epithelial dysplasia varying from slight to carcinoma in situ, or a non-dysplastic lesion located sublingually or on the tongue. The clinical diagnosis of the treated lesions were: erythroplakia 10, erythroleukoplakia 15, nodular leukoplakia 9, verrucous leukoplakia 9, homogeneous leukoplakia 13, and lichen planus 5. The surgically created defects were closed by direct approximation of the wound edges in 25 patients, transposition by a local mucosal flap in 9, covered with a free mucosal graft in 3, and by a free split skin transplant in 24 patients. The patients have been followed for an average period of 3.9 years after the operation. A recurrence rate of 20% was found, and 3 carcinomas developed in the follow-up period. The importance of using a surgical technique permitting histological examination of the entire lesion was documented by the finding of 4 superficial carcinomas in the excision specimen, undiagnosed in the preoperative biopsy.

Oral mucosal lesions related to silver amalgam restorations

A total of 49 consecutive patients with lesions of the oral mucosa that were in contact with corroding dental amalgam restorations were subdivided into two groups. In group 1 the lesions were restricted to the contact area opposing the dental restoration, whereas the extent of the lesions in group 2 exceeded that of the contact area. Epicutaneous test for mercury allergy showed that a significantly greater proportion of the patients in group 1 had positive reactions to mercury than in group 2 (p = 0.019). The amalgam restorations were replaced by composite resin or porcelain fused to gold crowns, or contact between amalgam fillings and oral mucosa was prevented by an acrylic splint. After this treatment regression of lesions was far more pronounced in group 1 than in group 2 (p less than 0.001). On the basis of these findings, contact allergy to mercury is suggested as a possible etiologic factor of the mucosal changes in group 1, and the designation contact lesion is proposed for such lesions. The lesions of patients in group 2 seem unrelated to a contact allergy to mercury, and other causes such as lichen planus should be considered.

Maxillary sinus floor augmentation with Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone as graft: a systematic review.

AIMS The objective of the present systematic review was to test the hypothesis of no differences in the implant treatment outcome when Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone is used as graft for the maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA) applying the lateral window technique. MATERIAL AND METHODS A MEDLINE (PubMed) search in combination with a hand search of relevant journals was conducted by including human studies published in English from January 1, 1990 to June 1, 2010. The search provided 879 titles and 35 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Considerable variation in the included studies prevented meta-analysis from being performed and no long-term study comparing MSFA with the two treatment modalities was identified. Also, the survival of suprastructures after the two augmentation procedures was not compared within the same study. RESULTS The 1-year implant survival was compared in one study demonstrating no statistically significant difference. The implant survival was 96% with Bio-Oss and 94% with a mixture of 80% Bio-Oss and 20% autogenous mandibular bone. Addition of a limited amount of autogenous bone to Bio-Oss seemed not to increase the amount of new bone formation and bone-to-implant contact compared with Bio-Oss. CONCLUSIONS Therefore, the hypothesis of no differences between the use of Bio-Oss or Bio-Oss mixed with autogenous bone as graft for MSFA could neither be confirmed nor rejected.

Classification and clinical manifestations of oral yeast infections

By tradition oral candidosis has been classified into acute pseudomembranous (thrush), acute atrophic, chronic atrophic, and chronic hyperplastic types. However, pseudomembranous candidosis is not always acute but may last for many months. Furthermore, the value of using the term atrophic to describe an erythematous area is limited. Moreover, some of the various types have been associated with other clinical entities, which appear to have a combined bacterial/mycologic etiology. A revision of the classification should be based on the use of clinical terms, and in a previous study of multifocal oral candidosis, erythematous, plaque-like, and nodular forms were identified. A revised classification of oral candidosis which considers these aspects could be as follows: acute types: pseudomembranous and erythematous; chronic types: pseudomembranous, erythematous, plaque-like, and nodular; and Candida-associated lesions: denture stomatitis, angular cheilitis, and median rhomboid glossitis.

The Relationship Between Body Mass Index and Periodontitis in the Copenhagen City Heart Study

BACKGROUND Obesity is hypothesized to involve immunoinflammatory alterations, and the condition has been related to increased susceptibility to periodontitis. The present study analyzed the association between overweight/obesity and periodontitis assessed as clinical attachment loss (AL) and bleeding on probing (BOP) in a cross-sectional design. METHODS Participants included 878 women and 719 men aged 20 to 95 years (participation rate 54%) who underwent an oral examination, including full-mouth recording of clinical AL and BOP. Overweight and obesity were assessed by body mass index (BMI) using the World Health Organization criteria. BMI was related to clinical AL (defined as mean > or =3 mm) and BOP (defined as > or =25%) by multivariable logistic regression in the total population and in subjects stratified by gender and smoking habits. RESULTS Obese participants had a lower odds ratio (OR) for clinical AL compared to participants with normal weight (OR: 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36 to 0.99). The same tendency was observed in subjects stratified by smoking habit. Obese never-smokers had a lower OR for clinical AL compared to never-smoking participants with normal weight (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.91). Overweight participants had a higher OR for BOP compared to subjects with normal weight (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.78). In addition, overweight never-smokers had a higher OR for BOP compared to normal weight never-smokers (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.03 to 2.59). CONCLUSION BMI may be inversely associated with clinical AL but positively related to BOP.

Volumetric changes of the graft after maxillary sinus floor augmentation with Bio-Oss and autogenous bone in different ratios: a radiographic study in minipigs

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to learn about the volumetric changes of the graft after maxillary sinus floor augmentation with Bio-Oss and autogenous bone from the iliac crest or the mandible in different ratios in minipigs. MATERIAL AND METHODS Bilateral maxillary sinus floor augmentation was performed in 40 minipigs with: (A) 100% autogenous bone, (B) 75% autogenous bone and 25% Bio-Oss, (C) 50% autogenous bone and 50% Bio-Oss, (D) 25% autogenous bone and 75% Bio-Oss, and (E) 100% Bio-Oss. The autogenous bone graft was harvested from the iliac crest or the mandible and the graft composition was selected at random and placed concomitant with implant placement. Computed tomographies of the maxillary sinuses were obtained preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at euthanasia after 12 weeks. The volumetric changes of the graft were estimated using the Cavalieri principle and expressed as mean percentage with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS The mean volume of the graft was reduced by (A) 65% (95% CI: 60-70%), (B) 38% (95% CI: 35-41%), (C) 23% (95% CI: 21-25%), (D) 16% (95% CI: 12-21%), and (E) 6% (95% CI: 4-8%). The volumetric reduction was significantly influenced by the ratio of Bio-Oss and autogenous bone (P<0.001), but not by the origin of the autogenous bone graft (P=0.2). CONCLUSIONS The volume of autogenous bone grafts from the iliac crest and the mandible is reduced significantly after maxillary sinus floor augmentation in minipigs. The graft volume is better preserved after the addition of Bio-Oss and the volumetric reduction is significantly influenced by the ratio of Bio-Oss and autogenous bone. However, further studies are needed addressing the amount of new bone formation and bone-to-implant contact before the final conclusion can be made about the optimal ratio of Bio-Oss and autogenous bone.

Factors Affecting IL-1-Mediated Collagen Metabolism By Fibroblasts and the Pathogenesis of Periodontal Disease: A Review of the Literature

Fibroblasts have been studied extensively for their contribution to connective tissue destruction in diseases where the metabolism of extracellular matrix components plays an essential part in their pathogenesis. A considerable dissolution, especially of collagen fibrils, is a well-known characteristic of the periodontal ligament and the gingival connective tissue in microbial-induced periodontal disease. Fibroblasts, responsible for the assembly of the extracellular matrix, are capable of responding directly to oral microbial challenges or indirectly, following activation of the host immune response, and can alter the composition of connective tissue in several ways: synthesis of inflammatory mediators, their receptors and antagonists; fibroblast proliferation; collagen synthesis; phagocytosis of collagen fibrils; and synthesis of proteolytic enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases and their corresponding inhibitors. The contributions of these cellular fibroblastic properties to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease are reviewed in the context of the cytokine, interleukin-1, as the inflammatory regulator.