Leukoplakia

A common medical condition which affects the mouth, leukoplakia is characterised by the presence of white patches on the cheeks and tongue. These patches do not disappear even if they are rubbed off.

The soft tissues, mostly the ones in the tongue, develop irritation which leads to leukoplakia. But in certain cases the patches may develop on the cheeks.

The patches normally fade off once the source of irritation has been removed. But in rare cases, the leukoplakia develops into oral cancer also.

People who are suffering from AIDS develop white hairy patches on tongue. This is termed as ‘hairy’ leukoplakia.

Symptoms

Leukoplakia is characterised by the presence of painless lines or patches which are grey or white in colour on the tongues as well as the cheeks. These patches will be slightly thick and raised and have a hard surface.

Causes

The basic cause of leukoplakia is the irritation that develops in the soft tissues which are present in the mouth. The irritation may be caused by the presence of teeth fillings, crowns of the teeth, dentures on the teeth as well as broken and rough teeth. There can be other causes also. The excessive use of tobacco as well as excessive smoking can lead to the irritation in the mouth. This condition is known as smoker’s keratosis.

Persons who smoke using pipes or chew tobacco in the form of gutkha or paan masala are highly prone to the development of leukoplakia in them.

Consumption of alcohol in excessive quantities can also lead to the development of leukoplakia. A person who has the habit of cheek chewing persistently is also subjected to the risk of developing leukoplakia.

Diagnosis

The white patches which appear in the mouth progresses in a very slow manner over weeks and even months. The doctor diagnoses the presence of leukoplakia in a person on the basis of these white patches. Consequently, the patches develop a texture that is very rough. These patches also develop sensitivity towards heat, touch as well as spicy foods.
The doctor takes a small area form the mouth which contains the white patches. A biopsy is performed to confirm the presence of leukoplakia. The biopsy will also help to rule out any chances of oral cancer.

If leukoplakia is present in the person persistently then one needs to repeat biopsy at regular intervals of time.

Treatment

The treatment for leukoplakia aims at the removal of the white patches associated with the leukoplakia. The source of irritation has to be removed. The source or irritation may be a filling, presence of rough tooth or the using of tobacco.

If the cause of irritation is the persistent chewing habit, then one has to stop that for curing leukoplakia.

In certain cases, the lesion may have to be removed via surgery. In other cases, the dentist may opt for using laser removal of leukoplakia as well as performing cryosurgery. Cryosurgery is a procedure by which the tissues which have been affected with leukoplakia are removed by freezing them. In this procedure, the cutting of tissues is not done. Cryosurgery does not require any anaesthesia as it does not give any pain during the process.