Orofacial manifestations of mixed connective tissue disease.

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a multisystem disorder with overlapping features of systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and polymyositis and is differentiated from them by a high titre of antibody to ribonucleoprotein. Orofacial manifestations of MCTD include trigeminal neuralgia-like pain, neuropathy, features suggestive of Sjögren's syndrome and lymphadenopathy. The recent experience of two patients presenting with trigeminal neuropathy as an early manifestation of this disease is described. One of these patients presented with 'lichenoid' oral mucosal lesions as a further early manifestation of MCTD. This appears to be the first case with this presenting feature to be described in the literature.