Smoking Habits Among Patients Diagnosed with Oral Lichen Planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is one of the most common dermatologic diseases that manifests in the oral cavity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between smoking habits and the clinical subtypes of OLP.

Oral findings and smoking data from 187 charts of OLP patients from an oral medicine clinic was reviewed and compared to data from 76 matched control patients.

Ninety-three patients were diagnosed with reticular OLP, 55 with atrophic and 39 with erosive forms of the disease. Symptomatic OLP occurred in 63.6% of patients. Fewer cases of reticular OLP were symptomatic than erosive OLP (p < 0.001). Significantly fewer OLP patients smoked than the control group (16% versus 25%) (p = 0.04). More patients with reticular OLP smoked than those with atrophic and erosive OLP (p = 0.002). It is hypothesized that the heat and irritation of smoking may aggravate symptomatic OLP lesions, and the risk of malignant transformation associated with tobacco use may play a role in patients stopping tobacco use. Because there were fewer smokers in patients with OLP, and because OLP carries an increased malignant risk, transformation of OLP may be due to a different etiology and of a different pathogenesis than squamous cell carcinoma not arising from lichen planus. Close follow-up of patients with OLP is indicated.