Medical treatment of oral lichen planus (OLP) is essential for the management of painful, erythematous, erosive, or bullous lesions. The principal aims of current oral lichen planus therapy are the resolution of painful symptoms, the resolution of oral mucosal lesions, the reduction of the risk of oral cancer, and the maintenance of good oral hygiene. In patients with recurrent painful disease, another goal is the prolongation of their symptom-free intervals.
The main concerns with the current therapies are the local and systemic adverse effects and lesion recurrence after treatment is withdrawn. No treatment of oral lichen planus is curative.
Eliminate local exacerbating factors. Treat any sharp teeth or broken restorations or prostheses that are likely to cause physical trauma to areas of erythema or erosion by using conventional dental means. Scale the teeth to remove calculous deposits and reduce sharp edges. If the patient has an isolated plaquelike or erosive oral lichen planus lesion on the buccal or labial mucosa adjacent to a dental restoration, and if an allergy is detected by means of skin patch testing, the lesion may heal if the offending material is removed or replaced. (However, most lichenoid lesions adjacent to dental restorations are asymptomatic.
If systemic drug therapy (eg, treatment with NSAIDs, antimalarials, or beta-blockers) is suspected as the cause of oral lichenoid lesions, changing to another drug may be worthwhile. This change must be undertaken only by the patient’s attending physician. However, the switch rarely resolves the erosions, and almost never resolves the white patches of oral lichen planus.
Inform all patients with oral lichen planus about their slightly increased risk of oral SCC (the most common of all oral malignancies). As with all patients, advise those with oral lichen planus that this risk may be reduced by eliminating tobacco and alcohol consumption and by consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, among other measures. Erosive and atrophic lesions can be converted into reticular lesions by using topical steroids. Therefore, the elimination of mucosal erythema and ulceration, with a residual asymptomatic reticular or papular lesions, may be considered an end point of current oral lichen planus therapy. With respect to plaque lesions, the effect of treatment on the risk of oral cancer is unclear.
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