Preventive measures in prosthetics for patients with leukoplakia

   Leukoplakia of the oral mucosa is a precancerous condition, and prosthetic treatment for patients with this condition is associated with an increased risk of trauma and malignancy.

   Developing preventive measures for the prosthetic treatment of this patient population is a pressing issue.

   The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a developed preventive program for the prosthetic treatment of patients with leukoplakia of the oral mucosa.

   The study included 240 patients requiring removable and fixed prosthetics. The study group consisted of 127 patients with clinically and morphologically verified leukoplakia; the control group consisted of 113 patients without mucosal pathology. Patients in the study group received a developed program of preventive measures: debridement of leukoplakia lesions prior to prosthetic treatment, selection of atraumatic prosthetics, hygiene monitoring, and regular follow-up. Evaluation of effectiveness was carried out after 3, 6 and 12 months based on the following criteria: lesion area dynamics (planimetry), exacerbation frequency, and patient satisfaction. After 12 months, 84.3 % of patients in the main group demonstrated stabilization of the process (absence of lesion growth and appearance of new elements), 9.4 % showed a decrease in the lesion area, and 6.3 % showed a slight increase (associated with non-compliance with recommendations). In the control group (without leukoplakia), no complications associated with prosthetics were recorded. The exacerbation frequency (ulceration, appearance of new foci) in the main group was 7.1 % with adherence to preventive measures versus 18.5 % in the retrospective comparison group (p < 0.05). The developed set of preventive measures (sanitation of foci, atraumatic prosthetics, hygienic control, dispensary observation) allows to reliably reduce the risk of complications and ensure safe orthopedic treatment of patients with leukoplakia of the oral mucosa.