Prevalence of Oral Lichen Planus in Patients Referred to the Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of oral lichen planus and its associated factors among the patients referred to the Department of Oral Diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the period 2022-2023. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Out of 1288 patients, 111 patients (8.6%) were diagnosed with oral lichen planus either clinically or by histopathology and/or with direct immunofluorescence assay and included in the study. RESULTS: 79.3% were women and the average age was 63.05 ± 11.94 years. The buccal mucosa was affected most frequently (44.1%) and reticular lesions were the most prevalent (54.1%). Associated skin lesions were found in 5.4% of patients, and 13.5% of the patients also had periodontal disease. 63.1% of the patients reported having at least one systemic disease, 64.0% of the patients reported taking one or more medications. Most of the patients (87.0%) were non-smokers. 60.0% of the patients reported being symptomatic. In 36.0%, the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology, and in 29.7% of the cases the diagnosis was confirmed by direct immunofluorescence assay. CONCLUSION: The results of this study reveal that the prevalence of oral lichen planus in patients referred to the Department of Oral diseases and Periodontology in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is high.