Investigation of the clinical features of geographic tongue: unveiling its relationship with oral psoriasis.

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined the clinical features of geographic tongue (GT), an inflammatory lesion, making diagnosis and the investigation of oral psoriasis difficult.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features of GT to facilitate its identification and understand its relationship with psoriasis.

METHODS

A total of 96 participants diagnosed with GT underwent stomatological and dermatological examinations. The parameters assessed were burning sensation; number, classification, and location of lesions; loss of papillae; severity of GT lesions; and association with fissured tongue (FT). Psoriatic patients (PS) and those without psoriasis (NPS) were compared.

RESULTS

Burning sensation was reported by 45 (47%) patients, 67 (70%) patients showed active GT, 68 (71%) presented with typical lesions, and 59 (61%) exhibited moderate lesions. GT was associated with FT in 75% of the cases and exhibited a diffused pattern associated with severe lesions. It was also more frequent in the PS group. The comparative analysis between the PS and NPS groups showed significant differences between the groups with regard to gender, presence of burning sensation, and GT severity.

CONCLUSION

GT is a symptomatic lesion with a thick halo. In contrast, psoriatic patients are frequently asymptomatic and exhibit severe lesions with greater loss of papillae that are associated with severe FT. The present study is the first to demonstrate clinical differences in the GT of patients with and without psoriasis, suggesting that some GT cases may represent true oral psoriasis and some cases may represent only GT.