PREVALENCE OF ORAL MUCOSAL LESIONS IN PATIENTS WITH DERMATOLOGIC DISORDERS

Background: Skin lesions are strongly associated with oral lesions and can be easily neglected by dentists. This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions (OML) in skin disease patients attending the dermatology clinic.
Methodology: Randomly selected 1254 dermatology outpatients were examined for dermatological diseases and oral mucosal lesions of which 180(15%) are related to oral conditions. Systematic comprehensive extra-oral and intra-oral clinical examinations based on visual inspection and palpation following the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for field surveys was carried out. The smoking and alcohol consumption history were taken for all the patients.
Results: The most frequently observed oral conditions were Herpes zoster (10.34 %), Oral Lichen planus (9.20%), Pemphigus vulgaris (8.05%), Hand –foot- and mouth disease( 8.05%), leukoplakia (6.90%) and Oral submucous fibrosis (6.90%).
Conclusions: Our findings revealed that the OML were frequently diagnosed in skin disease patients attending Kasturba medical college and hospital (KMCH). This data underlines the importance of the diagnosis of oral conditions in Dermatology because they are frequent and may provide guidelines for an appropriate comprehensive management of patients. Our results project the need for a thorough evaluation of all patients and a multidisciplinary approach in the management of affected patients.