Abstract
A clinical diagnosis of oral lichen planus (OLP) can be made according to several classifications. Specifically, 2-type, 3-type, and 6-type classifications have been established, each offering greater diagnostic precision. Typical cases can usually be diagnosed without difficulty; however, clinical diagnoses for mixed lesions can differ among doctors. Thus, standard guidelines for clinical classification of OLP are needed.
In the present study, 5 specialists in Japanese Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons classified cases that had been diagnosed as OLP in the Department of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Jichi Medical University. The results showed that the rate of agreement for each diagnosis was high when using Axéll’s 2-type classification, but the rate of agreement decreased as the number of types increased. In addition, the rate of agreement was higher in cases with the typical reticular type and lower in cases with the mixed type. Although the 2-type classification was found to be most suitable, it is necessary to establish definitions for the classification of compound cases and multiple onset cases.
