Specialists call leukoplakia a pathological lesion of mucous tissues, accompanied by characteristic keratinization. The lesions can be localized in all organs with mucous membranes. Quite often pathology affects the oral cavity, in particular the surface of the tongue.
The disease is accompanied by a feeling of tightness and irritation, burning and dryness in the mouth. Timely treatment and further prevention will help quickly and without complications get rid of the pathology forever.
The causes of the disease
Men with a higher propensity to leukoplakia are older than 50 years of age, and in women such a pathology is half as rare.
People with immunodeficiency, who tend to develop a hairy type of lesion, are at risk of contracting leukoplakia. Such patients will be able to help only supportive treatment, because they can not definitively cure them.
Leukoplakia of the tongue mucosa by specialists is regarded as an optional pre-cancerous condition. Most often, external stimuli act as a prerequisite for the development of pathology.
The most common causes of leukoplakia are such factors:
- Abuse of alcohol;
- Tobacco - tar, smoke and nicotine have an irritant effect on the mucous tissues of the tongue;
- Presence of inflammation in the mouth;
- Unhealthy teeth - they are usually sources of inflammatory and infectious processes that provoke the development of leukoplakia. To cause leukoplakia lesions may even unsuccessfully matched prostheses, fillings or other dental structures for the oral cavity;Deficiency of B vitamins and retinol;
- Pathologically low immune status;
- Traumatic injury of the tongue;
- Occupation in hazardous production, etc.
Diabetes, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, iron deficiency anemia, medication use, hormonal failures, etc. can provoke language damage.
Symptoms of leukoplakia of
The pathology develops rather slowly and in several stages. At first, nothing bothers the patients. Inflammatory processes usually begin with the base of the organ, so it is not possible to see it.
First, minor inflammatory foci appear, then the formation of whitish spots occurs, which indicates the keratinization of the mucosal epithelium.
If at the initial stage the leukoplakia is not treated, while it is still in a simple( flat) form, the pathological process is aggravated, degenerating into a vercus type of disease, in which warts or plaques begin to form on whitish spots. The spots themselves become much denser and begin to appear prominently above the mucous surface of the tongue.
The pathological process can develop for years without any manifestations, leading to further adverse effects. But more often the symptoms still manifest earlier.
They are as follows:
- Multiple or single spots of whitish hue appear with a typical bloom;
- Over time, damage to the root of the tongue can be caused by perspiration, coughing and difficulty in speaking.
Types of the disease
Three characteristic degrees of the pathological process are generally distinguished:
- Simple - when the lesion has a flat appearance, it produces characteristic whitish spots that look like a simple plaque, but attempts to remove it result in failure, which indicates the development of flat leukoplakia;
Photo of hairy leukoplakia on the lateral surface of the tongue
- In the absence of treatment, the flat form of the pathological process passes into the verrucose , when plaque or warts form on the surface of the tongue, on previously formed spots;
- Further progression of the disease leads to the formation of an even more complex form, when ulcerative lesions appear on the surface of the pathological lesion and develops the erosive-ulcerative form of .Emerging cracks, erosions and sores cause painful discomfort and increase the likelihood of malignancy of the pathological process. Therefore, it is necessary to make maximum efforts to prevent the worsening of the course of pathology.
Diagnosis and treatment of
leukoplakia Diagnosis begins with a traditional medical examination, in this case, a dentist or therapist. Usually, the diagnosis does not cause any difficulties, although the doctor usually additionally prescribes a biopsy to confirm and determine the cellular structure.
Biomaterials from lesions are subjected to a cytological examination that allows timely detection of precancerous cellular atypia, if any.
The medical process consists of a whole complex of measures, the basis of which is the elimination of provoking factors. These include nicotine and alcohol dependence, hypovitaminosis, gastrointestinal, somatic and endocrine pathologies, infectious inflammatory foci, substandard metal prostheses, seals, etc.
With flat leukoplakia, the tongue does not usually require any radical therapeutic measures, however, the patientperiodic inspection is necessary.
If atypical cellular changes and basal cell activity are detected during histology and cytology, then an early removal of the pathological focus is shown.
Usually removal is carried out by radio wave or laser removal, electroexcision or diathermocoagulation. Sometimes cautery is performed by cryodestruction, but many experts do not recommend this technique because of the remaining scars.
Prevention and prognosis
Preventive measures include the timely treatment of oral lesions, for example, carious teeth, gingival inflammations, etc.
Also it is necessary to avoid a traumatic factor like teeth with sharp edges, unpolished seals, substandard prosthesis, etc.
Forecasts in a timely mannertreatment of leukoplakia language is exceptionally positive, although the risk of recurrence persists.
Preventing the re-development of lesions will help observation after treatment and compliance with preventive recommendations.
The main thing is not to engage in self-treatment with the help of folk methods, because all sorts of cauterizations and heat effects can aggravate the course of the disease, complicate its treatment and even start the malignancy of the lesion.