International online conference Periodontology & Friends


What we do know about Oral lichen planus?


Introduction: A study of the incidence of the oral mucosal diseases conducted at the Faculty of Dental Medicine-Plovdiv demonstrated that OLP is the most common entity. This is a chronic inflammatory disease, considered as a premalignant condition. The etiology and pathogenesis of the disease are unknown, which is why the administered treatment modalities are poorly effective.
Aim: The aim of this study was to clarify the pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for the tissue injury and to assess the effectiveness of Low-Level-Laser Therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of OLP.

Methods:Twenty patients with OLP underwent LLLT (0,5W; 30s) with diode laser (810nm), 3 times weekly for a month. The clinical scores of the lesions and pain level were recorded before and after therapy, using Thongprasom-scoring system and VAS respectively.
Biopsies were taken before and after therapy for histological analysis and immunohistochemical detection of p53, p63, bcl-2, Ki-67, COX-2. A comparison was made with the level of these markers in normal oral mucosa taken from 10 healthy volunteers.

Results:The obtained data did’t confirm the significance of the process “apoptosis” and suggested that the insufficiency of p63 might be important mechanism in the pathogenesis of the disease. The decreased levels of p63, Ki-67 and bcl-2 predisposed to thinning of the epithelium and ulceration.LLLT significantly reduced the symptoms and clinical signs of the disease and resulted in histological improvement. On molecular level, laser irradiation stimulated cells survival and proliferation.

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