Oral lichen planus is basically an autoimmune disease we don’t really know what causes it and there isn’t really a predictable cure for it although there are treatments for it. If you have a burning mouth and it’s quite uncomfortable and you don’t know why and your dentist can’t figure out why it’s very possible that you do have oral lichen planus. In order to confirm that typically we take a small sliver of tissue and send it in for examination that’s called a biopsy and the biopsy can give us a very definitive diagnosis of lichen planus and there are a number of approaches to treating it not curing it but controlling it at least making it more comfortable for you. Lichen planus can affect other parts of the body too but we’re going to talk mainly about oral lichen planus.
It’s interesting a lot of patients who have Lichen Planus don’t know that they have it but they come in and their mouth is just burning or sore and they can’t figure out what it is and upon close examination, we can see little white patches in their mouth or little white spots or sometimes we can see a lace-like pattern on the inside of the cheek and these are the typical signs of lichen planus. Now lichen planus can become much more severe it’s then called erosive lichen planus and actually when it becomes erosive lichen planus there is a slight but increased likelihood that it could evolve into oral cancer anywhere from one to five percent of erosive lichen planus may become oral cancer and so if one is diagnosed with lichen planus particularly the erosive or the more severe kind of lichen planus one should get monitored periodically.
If you’re having symptoms of a dry rough burning uncomfortable mouth get it checked out to go to your dentist go to a periodontist to see what’s going on. Remember keep your mouth healthy if you have a healthier mouth you’re definitely going to have a healthier body have a great day! Restore your smile and your health with the help of Dr. Laleh and her associates visit www.silverhilldental.com to schedule your appointment today.
Oral Lichen Planus or Burning Mouth Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
First of all, if it’s not too painful or bothering you too much if it just feels a bit rough there’s nothing necessary you don’t need to do anything but if it’s starting to get uncomfortable the first line of treatment is topical chordal of steroids put on the gum tissue to reduce the inflammation and the discomfort. Sometimes if it’s more advanced than that or it’s not responding oral corticosteroids and pill form may be taken. We’re also now using a laser in some cases so there are a number of other treatments that are being developed that can help improve the prognosis of lichen planus and make it more comfortable. One other thing is environmental exposure can be a contributing factor to these cases of lichen planus most of these patients many of them have been exposed to strong fumes chemical fumes paint fumes sometimes pesticides.
In fact, we just had a patient just a half-hour ago who was testing airbags and was exposed to strong vapours from the airbags and he absolutely had like in planets. So, we think there’s a lot of environmental factors people who have asthma who’ve been using inhalers for a long period of time we’ve seen a number of these people who are developing a burning mouth and lichen planus but it may not show up for years maybe not 10 15 20 even 30 years later until it manifests itself in the form of burning mouths and lichen planus. There are a couple of examples of patients with lichen planus and you can see a white patch kind of white patches and this tissue is red it’s sore it’s very uncomfortable and so something needs to be done to help the patient reduce the discomfort and the pain associated we have periods of remission and exacerbation this actually was more uncomfortable than that was and this is burning it’s very uncomfortable it’s red and we do what we can to palliate this or reduce the discomfort that the patient is having.
We saw a case that case the patient was having chronic discomfort in the lower right side didn’t know why couldn’t figure it out this is a much milder case of lichen planus than the other two that we explained to you but still significant enough to make him uncomfortable.
We’re going to do something we’ll probably take a biopsy that is a sliver of tissue just to confirm the fact that it is Lichen Planus but there’s no doubt about it in our mind but not all lichen planus cases are as obvious.
A routine for many agonizing for rod Palmateer it feels like my tongue has been burnt the movie buff couldn’t even enjoy a show the burning sensation would not go away at its height very uncomfortable just to be sitting doing nothing. It’s a neuropathic condition there is not a lot of definitive understanding of what causes it what are the best ways to treat it dr. Cowan says burning mouth syndrome occurs in about 4 percent of the u.s. population in mostly Perry and postmenopausal women but it also does occur in men talking could be irritating rod finally found relief with a medicine called amitriptyline in the 60s and 70s it was used as an antidepressant after three weeks his symptoms were gone and he weaned off the medication we tried to suppress the nerve from firing and to get the patient some relief dr. Cowan says cognitive behavioural therapy is also used to treat the symptoms both are working for rod who has found a way to keep his cool.
What Causes Oral Lichen Planus?
This is the same with a burning mouth or a sore mouth. It’s a b12 deficiency now the question is how do you become b12 deficient? Several ways could happen: number one low stomach acid
number two let’s see a gastric bypass and therefore you don’t have the full capacity of your digestive system, and you can’t absorb b12. Some type of problem in your intestines like IBS or Crohn’s or inflammatory problem in your bowel could do it as well being a vegan could do it as well, because most of the b12 comes from either egg animal meats or animal organs or dairy, so if you’re a vegan you might want to add b12 in the form of methylcobalamin. This is the natural form that does not get the cyano Cibola mean, and drinking alcohol can deplete b12 that’s why alcoholics are usually deficient in b12, and for that matter, anyone that has liver damage is going to have a hard time absorbing b12. All right there you have it.
Common Symptoms from Cervical Instability
• Anxiety
• Cognitive impairment
• Crepitation
• Difficulty sleeping
• Dizziness
• Drop attacks
• Dysphagia
• Ear pain
• Facial pain
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Lightheadedness
• Memory problems
• Migraines
• Nausea/vomiting
• Nausea/vomiting
• Neck pain/stiffness
• Paresthesias
• Poor balance
• Speech disturbalance
• Swallowing difficulties
• Tinnitus
• Vertigo
• Visual disturbances
