Hello Sereyians , hope you are doing good and strong. Keep Sereying and you will scale high
Today, I will like to complement my write-up as regards Leukoplakia
There are two major types of leukoplakia according to morphological outline :
1- Homogenous :
It is a mostly white, even coloured thin patch, that may have a smooth, wrinkled or ridge-like surface that is consistent throughout
2- Non- Homogenous
A mainly white or white-and-red, irregularly shaped patch that may be of flattened appearance, nodular (protruded) , or verrucous (elevated than other surface)
There are subtypes as well such as ulcerated leukoplakia and nodular look ones which helps a lot in determining the likelihood of a patch to become cancerous or not
Non-homogenous leukoplakia due to its non-consistent look has seven times probability to become cancerous than homogenous one
The well-known and major symptoms of leukoplakia are one or more white patches found on the tongue surface, underneath of tongue, or on insides of the cheek (oral vestibule) which cannot be rubbed off and cannot be traced to any other cause, no pain or other symptoms are associated with leukoplakia in a normal circumstances with other underlying diseases
Since leukoplakia is a condition which is characterized by white patches which do not cause other symptoms, it is easily noticed by physicians during medical check-ups
Though before diagnosis of leukoplakia is confirmed other causes of white patches are checked out, if no other cause is found and proved and the patch is still persistent for a number of weeks then it may be confirmed as leukoplakia
Treatment of leukoplakia infion is majorly targeted at preventing from becomimg transformed into cancer especially those that are of microbial origin such as EPV virus and Syphilis
The major approach of treatment include systemic, topical and the last option is usually the surgical approach
However, leukoplakia can be sometimes challenging as there are greater chances of re-emergence after being surgically removed or not being scrapped properly by a surgical scalpel
Leukoplakia can be treated by two types of medications: systemic and topical.
If your dentist recommends a systemic medication, they will prescribe an antiviral medication like Valtrex or Famvir. While the virus that causes leukoplakia never leaves the body, its spread can be halted. Regular treatment can clear up the leukoplakic patches, but they may return without regular treatment.
If your dentist recommends a topical medication, you could be dealing with a podophyllum resin solution or a retinoic acid. Both are applied topically to the patches, but as with systemic treatments, the patches can return if the topical medications aren’t used regularly and consistently. Source
Nice post🎇