Prevalence of Oral Lichen Planus in Patients Referred to the Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of oral lichen planus and its associated factors among the patients referred to the Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the period 2022-2023.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Out of 1288 patients, 111 patients (8.6%) were diagnosed with oral lichen planus either clinically or by histopathology and/or with direct immunofluorescence assay and included in the study.

RESULTS

79.3% were women and the average age was 63.05 ± 11.94 years. The buccal mucosa was affected most frequently (44.1%) and reticular lesions were the most prevalent (54.1%). Associated skin lesions were found in 5.4% of patients, and 13.5% of the patients also had periodontal disease. 63.1% of the patients reported having at least one systemic disease, 64.0% of the patients reported taking one or more medications. Most of the patients (87.0%) were non-smokers. 60.0% of the patients reported being symptomatic. In 36.0%, the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology, and in 29.7% of the cases the diagnosis was confirmed by direct immunofluorescence assay.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study reveal that the prevalence of oral lichen planus in patients referred to the Department of Oral diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is high.