Leukoplakia and Your Dental Health

Sometimes, a gray or white patch might occur on your tongue, on the inner cheek, or on the mouth’s floor. This patch can be a sign of a condition called leukoplakia. This condition occurs as a result of chronic irritation of the mucous membranes of the mouth.

While these patches can occur anytime during a lifetime, it’s more common in older adults.

The most unusual form of this condition is hairy leukoplakia which is seen only in the people who are affected by HIV, AIDS or AIDS-related complex. It looks pretty much like candida fungus, or thrush, and it usually occurs as a result of nonfunctional immune system.

Reasons for leukoplakia

The most common causes of leukoplakia include:

• Irritation from rough parts of the teeth, filling, crowns, or ill-fitting dentures
• Smoking and tobacco use
• Long exposure of lip to the sun
• Oral cancer
• HIV or AIDS

The symptoms of leukoplakia

As mentioned above, gray or white patches on the tongue, inner cheeks and floor of the mouth may be a sign of leukoplakia. The development of these patches may be slow enough to take weeks and even months. They can be thick in the start and become slightly raised from the level of surface they are on. And eventually, they take on a hardened and rough texture. In most of the cases, they are painless. But they can be sensitive to touch, spicy foods, heat, and other types of irritations.

Leukoplakia diagnosis

A dentist or oral physician will be able to tell that the patches present in your mouth are actually leukoplakia. If there are the signs of this condition, a biopsy may be performed to make sure that you are affected by oral cancer. Biopsy is associated with the removal of a small piece of tissue from the lesion. This small piece is then sent to the labs for tests. This procedure is done under the effect of numbing agent to avoid any pain.

Treatment of leukoplakia

If leukoplakia is a result of irritation, the source of irritation is treated to not only treat the infection but also avoid its future occurrence. If leukoplakia is due to smoking and tobacco consumption, you are going to have to work towards quitting tobacco use in any form.

Leukoplakia itself is harmless. The lesions get cleared within a weeks or months after the source of irritation is removed. But if the lesions remain there for an extended period of time, your oral physician may suggest the removal of those lesions.