Hello Janice

Lichen planus can often be mistaken for psoriasis because they can look similar.

You may find this link to an oral lichen planus web site helpful.

Prof Scully in a recent paper "Oral Medicine — Update for the dental practitioner - Oral white patches" British Dental Journal Vol.199 No.9 Nov 12 2005 stated: " Non-reticular oral LP in particular has a small premalignant potential – probably of the order of 1%. There is no test to reliably predict this. Patients with non-reticular lichen planus should be monitored to exclude development of carcinoma. "

The NICE Referral guidelines for suspected cancer issued in June 2005 states:
"An urgent referral should be made in a patient who presents with unexplained red and white patches (including suspected lichen planus) of the oral mucosa that are:

• painful, or
• swollen, or
• bleeding

A non-urgent referral should be made in the absence of these features. If oral lichen planus is confirmed, the patient should be monitored for oral cancer as part of routine dental examination."

Further the review article by Ulf Mattsson, Mats Jontell, and Palle Holmstrup: "ORAL LICHEN PLANUS AND MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION: IS A RECALL OF PATIENTS JUSTIFIED?"Crit. Rev. Oral. Biol. Med. 2002 13: 390-396 states in its conclusion: "Consequently, on a practical and economic basis, a continuous recall of all OLP patients in specialist clinics cannot by justified. It is important, however, that every dentist and dental auxiliary be educated to detect early signs of oral cancer to ensure that these lesions are identified when the patients are seen for other purposes, such as routine examination and treatment. The patient should also be instructed to report clinical changes in the condition."

So my advice is relax but be aware of the changes that should alert you to seek an opinion, otherwise a routine six monthly check up with your dentist is fine.

Hope that helps put it all into perspective.

Best wishes
Vinod

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr Vinod K Joshi,