Course: A Patient With Oral Discomfort and Reduced Oral Aperture
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2024-03-04
A 63-year-old woman presented to the clinic with intermittent pain inside her mouth and a progressive decline in oral aperture that had developed over the prior year. She described a burning sensation inside her mouth that worsened with using mouthwash and eating spicy foods. She had no history of cigarette smoking or use of chewing tobacco but had chewed areca nuts for many years while living in India. Currently, she reported chewing areca nuts daily to weekly. Physical examination revealed white-tan plaques on the oral mucosa and thickened buccal mucosae bilaterally (Figure). Her lips and perioral skin appeared healthy, and the interincisal distance, defined as the distance between the tips of the frontal incisors when the mouth is opened as wide as possible, was approximately 25 mm (reference, >35 mm). Examination of a biopsy sample of the lower left labial mucosa revealed subepithelial fibrosis with stromal hyalinization, without epithelial dysplasia or inflammatory changes.
Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.
View Full Course