Salivary Cortisol and Salivary Flow Rate in Clinical Types of Oral Lichen Planus.

Patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) may develop immune sialadenitis that causes a dry mouth. The role of cortisol in autoimmune diseases is well known; yet studies on this subject are controversial. In this study, the salivary flow rate and salivary cortisol level were compared among subtypes of OLP. This study involved three groups of patients: (1) 11 with reticular OLP, (2) 20 with atrophic-erosive OLP, and (3) 30 with no apparent oral lesion. The salivary flow rate in the control group was significantly higher than in OLP patients. The mean level of cortisol in atrophic-erosive cases was higher than in reticular cases and in the control group; however, there was no significant difference between the three study groups. In a previous study, there was moderate to severe acinar atrophy in two-thirds of patients with OLP, which may explain the decreased salivary flow rate in these patients.