Efficacy of steroidal vs non-steroidal agents in oral lichen planus: a randomised, open-label study.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the therapeutic efficacy of steroidal and non-steroidal agents for treating oral lichen planus.

METHODS: Forty patients with clinical and/or histologically proven oral lichen planus were randomly placed into four groups and treated with topical triamcinolone, oral dapsone, topical tacrolimus or topical retinoid for three months. Pre- and post-treatment symptoms and signs were scored for each patient.

RESULTS: Patients in all treatment groups showed significant clinical improvement after three months (p 0.05) and for topical retinoid vs topical tacrolimus (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Non-steroidal drugs such as dapsone, tacrolimus and retinoid are as efficacious as steroidal drugs for treating oral lichen planus, and avoid the side effects associated with steroids.