Association between psychological disorders and the presence of Oral lichen planus, Burning mouth syndrome and Recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the existing relation between the Oral Lichen Planus (OLP), Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS), Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) and psychological alterations of the patient, such as stress, anxiety and depression.

Design of the study: 18 patients with RAS, 9 patients with OLP and 7 patients with BMS, that presented the condition at the moment of the examination, were studied, as well as a control group of 20 healthy patients. Both groups were extracted of hospitals and university centers, where the clinical diagnosis was made by a team of oral pathologists. Two measuring instruments were applied to them about their psychological condition: the Test of Recent Experience, to measure the stress level and scale H.A.D., to determine the level of anxiety and depression; the score given by them were statistically analyzed through T-test and the ANOVA Tukey test.

Results: Our results suggested a statistically significant association between these psychological disorders and the diseases of the oral mucosa in study. It was observed that the stress level is greater in patients with RAS and OLP, depression is particularly high in patients with BMS, and levels of anxiety are raised in the three groups, in comparison with the group control.

Conclusions: A positive relationship can be established between psychological alterations and RAS, OLP and BMS. The RAS and the OLP stress and anxiety levels were considered as high, whereas the BMS was more related to important levels of anxiety and depression. According to these findings it is possible to assume that psychological factors should be taking into account when oral health wants to be maintain as normal.