RESEARCH

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AUTHORS Ibbotson SH. Speight EL. Macleod RI. Smart ER. Lawrence CM.
INSTITUTION Department of Dermatology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.
TITLE The relevance and effect of amalgam replacement in subjects with oral lichenoid reactions.
SOURCE British Journal of Dermatology. 134(3):420-3, 1996 Mar.
COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION England
ABSTRACT In this study we examined the prevalence of mercury hypersensitivity in patients with oral lichenoid reactions (OLR) irrespective of their mercury sensitivity status. One hundred and ninety-seven patients with oral problems were examined: 109 with OLR, 22 with oral and generalized lichen planus, and 66 with other oral diagnosis, including aphthuos ulcers and orofacial granulomatosis. Nineteen per cent of patients with OLR reacted to mercury on patch testing, significantly more than those with generalized lichen planus (0%) and in those with other oral diagnoses (3%). Twenty-two patients with OLR and adjacent amalgams had amalgam replacement and, in 16 of 17 mercury-positive subjects and three of four mercury-negative subjects, the OLR resolved after amalgam removal. In conclusion, we found a significantly increased prevalence of mercury hypersensitivity in patients with localized OLR in comparison to subjects with other oral problems. Amalgam replacement resulted in resolution of OLR in the majority of patients with amalgams adjacent to OLR irrespective of their mercury sensitivity status.
PUBLICATION TYPE Journal Article
LANGUAGE English
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