White lesions of the oral mucosa

Yoon,  Hye-Jung

J Korean Dent Assoc > Volume 50(12); 2012 > Article

The Journal of The Korean Dental Association 2012;50(12):732-742.
Published online December 31, 2012.

임상가를 위한 특집 3 - 구강점막의 백색 병소

윤혜정

서울대학교 치의학대학원 구강병리학교실

White lesions of the oral mucosa

Hye-Jung Yoon

Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University

Abstract

White lesions of the oral mucosa are a common clinical finding that often present first to general dentist. Some white lesion may have possibility of malignancy. Leukoplakia is the most common "potentially malignant disorder" of the oral mucosa. Leukoplakia is at present defined as "A white plaque of questionable risk having excluded (other) known disease or disorders that carry no increased risk for cancer.". Therefore, it is important for general dentist to be familiar to clinical differential diagnosis of leukoplakia from the known white lesions such as candidiasis, lichen planus, leukoedema, frictional keratosis, and so on. It is also important to decide whether such lesions require further investigation through the biopsy. As a result of biopsy, the presence of epithelial dysplasia in the leukoplakia is still the strongest predictor of future malignant transformation. In this article, oral white lesions that must be differentiated from potentially malignant disorders or early invasive squamous cell carcinoma will be reviewed together with presenting clinical cases.

Key Words: oral white lesion;leukoplakia;early invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma;