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World J Stomatol. Feb 20, 2015; 4(1): 12-21
Published online Feb 20, 2015. doi: 10.5321/wjs.v4.i1.12
Oral lichenplanus: Etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management
Naresh Gangeshetty, B Praveen Kumar
Naresh Gangeshetty, B Praveen Kumar, Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, G.Pullareddy Dental College and Hospital, GPR Nagar, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh 518002, India
Author contributions: Gangeshetty N and Kumar BP solely contributed to this review; both the authors wrote the manuscript and revised the article.
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Naresh Gangeshetty, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, G.Pulla Reddy Dental College and Hospital, GPR Nagar, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh 518002, India. gnareshdr@gmail.com
Telephone: +91-8518-274074 Fax: +91-8518-273360
Received: September 28, 2014
Peer-review started: September 28, 2014
First decision: October 28, 2014
Revised: December 19, 2014
Accepted: January 9, 2015
Article in press: January 12, 2015
Published online: February 20, 2015
Abstract

Oral Lichen planus (OLP) is a common chronic mucocutaneous disorder with an immune mediated pathogenesis. Its appearance may vary from presence of keratotic to erythematous areas. Etiology of OLP is unknown, but it is thought to be the result of an autoimmune process with an unknown predisposing factor. Oral lichen planus is a complex and poorly understood clinical condition with periods of remissions and exacerbations. Management of the OLP is diversified with few lesions requiring treatment for years and few others are mild, requiring no treatment.

Keywords: Mucocutaneous disease, Lichen planus, Oral lichen planus, Autoimmunity, Corticosteroids

Core tip: Oral Lichen planus (OLP) is frequently encountered by the dermatologists and oral physician. Even though, lot of research is carried out on this disease, still the precise etiopathogenesis and treatment is controversial. As there is a risk of malignant potential reported with this disease, early diagnosis and proper management of the patient is necessary. The present article reviews the OLP briefly about its etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and various treatment aspects available.