Oral manifestation in leprosy: A cross-sectional study of 100 cases with literature review

Abstract

Background:Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerve and muscle of upper respiratory tract. Consequence to the neighboring primary site, oral lesions have been seen in 20--60% of patient with leprosy mainly lepromatous leprosy. The lepromatous nodules may be infective and may lead to the spread of disease and hence require proper diagnosis.Aim:To assess oral lesion in leprosy patients. To assess the disease and the occurrence of oral lesion according to age and gender. To detect any primary lesion in oral cavity and compare these lesions in duration to study.Materials and Methods:A total of 100 patients with leprosy were examined and there oral manifestations were recorded.Results:It was found that 70 (70%) leprosy patients showed oral manifestations. And 18 (25%) had chronic generalized periodontitis, 9 (12.8%) cases of oral melanosis, 7 (10%) atrophy of papillae and loss of taste sensation each, 6 (8.5%) complained of aphthous and candidiasis each, 5 (7.14%) depigmentation, and 4 (5.71%) smokers palate, oral submucous fibrosis, and fissured tongue.Conclusion:Our clinical findings are in conjugation with previous studies; however, as per the review of literature this is the first study worldwide where we have examined 100 cases of leprosy which has not been documented till date. We suggest that the lesser incidence of oral lesions observed recently compared to older reports because of more effective present treatment which is initiated earlier.

Investigation of the understanding on tropical infectious diseases and oral health among dental professionals in China

“…Secondly, several studies investigated the understanding of the medical and dental professionals on oral signs related to systemic diseases [ 33 ], whereas tropical infectious diseases were always ignored. Thirdly, although some oral disorders related to tropical infectious diseases have been found in clinic [ 8 , 10 , 11 ], the researchers did not investigate the understanding of this knowledge and importance among dental professionals. However, our study paid attention to such neglected aspect of tropical infectious diseases and oral health.…”

“…Oral-maxillofacial system has been reported to be affected by such infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases [ 6 , 7 ], viral diseases [ 8 , 9 ], bacterial diseases [ 10 , 11 ] and fungal diseases [ 10 , 12 ]. In addition, oral adverse events of medications for tropical infectious diseases have been also reported [ 13 ].…”

Palatal perforation in a patient with borderline lepromatous leprosy: leprosy still not eradicated

“…In a study done by Vohra et al in 2019, oral manifestations were found in 70% of patients with leprosy, though non-specific. There was also a decrease in the incidence of oral involvement in leprosy compared with older studies, which were probably due to more effective and earlier initiation of treatment 5…”

Taste changes in orofacial pain conditions and coronavirus disease 2019: a review

“…A study in Netherlands on approximately 1,645 drugs suggested that 20% of patients may experience dysgeusia and hypogeusia (82). Drugs that have been reported to cause taste changes include beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel antagonists, antimicrobials, anti-inflammatory, anti convulsants, endocrine and metabolic drugs, chemotherapeutic agents and drugs for gastrointestinal disorders (83)(84)(85)(86)(87)(88)(89). Several medications may induce taste disturbances through chemical interference and their effects on taste receptors during their development and maturity and subsequently induce oral pain through CNS mechanisms such as disruption of tonic inhibitory processes (90).…”