The Role of Dental Metal Allergy in Oral Lichen Planus

Abstract

This study reported the prevalence of metal allergy in a population of patients diagnosed with Oral Lichen Planus (OLP) or Oral Lichenoid Lesions (OLL) and patch tested with dental metal allergens in the University of Washington’s Oral Medicine Clinical Services (UW OMCS) between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014. Additionally the study compared the prevalence of metal allergy in UW OMCS’s OLP or OLL population with other populations derived from PubMed using a systematic search method. Ninety five percent of UW OMCS’s OLP/OLL population were allergic to one or more dental metals. When compared to a population of healthy controls or a population of individuals with contact dermatitis or a population of individuals with OLP/OLL, all of which derived from PubMed, UW OMCS’s OLP/OLL population showed significantly higher rates of dental metal allergies. This research raises a question on the possibility of metal allergens playing a role in the etiology of OLP.