Population‐based cohort study to assess the gingival lesions in 1319 patients with lichen planus.

Aims: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic immune disease. In this paper, we evaluated the overall characters, clinical presentation, and outcome of gingival lesions in OLP Italian patients. Methods and Results: A retrospective cohort study was accomplished: a total of 1319 charts were investigated, of whom 922 were female (69.9%): 617 patients (46.8%) manifested white lesions and 702 red ones (53.2%). While most patients had several oral sites of involvement, the gingiva was the unique location in 103 cases. Symptoms were reported in 480 patients (36.4%): 286 patients with erosive OLP, 103 with atrophic form, and 91 with a white form. Long‐lasting surveillance showed that only 40 patients (3.03%) had a total clinical signs remission. Regarding OLP medical treatment provided, patients attending less frequently a dental office underwent more often a specific therapy. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the biggest collections of patients with gingival OLP ever described; exclusive gingival lesions are, however, rare and unlikely to undergo a malignant transformation. Moreover, gum lesions seemed to anticipate the appearance of oral lesions and a higher rate of OLP therapy was observed in patients with less frequent dental check‐ups and oral hygiene instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]