Describing the gingival involvement in a sample of 182 Italian predominantly oral mucous membrane pemphigoid patients: A retrospective series

BACKGROUND: The oral cavity has been frequently described as the only site of involvement or as the first manifestation of mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP), being the gingival tissues often involved, but usually this has been effusively detailed in limited case series. This is a retrospective evaluation of the gingival involvement in 182 Italian patients with oral MMP. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The diagnosis of MMP was established by both clinical morphology and direct immunofluorescence finding. Patient information (age, gender, risk factors and medical status) and parameters of manifestation (lesions’ distribution, site and type) were detailed. RESULTS: The mean age was 62 years for women (n=137) and 67 years for men (n=45). Patients had several sites of oral involvement; the gingiva was the most common one, affecting 151 patients (82.96%; 119 f - 32 m). Female subjects had more possibilities to develop gingival lesions than male patients (P = 0.005). Sixty-five patients (35.7%; 58 f - 7 m) had pure gingival involvement. Patients with lower gingival involvement statistically had more complaints (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This report is one of the largest about predominantly oral MMP cases, detailing the very frequent gingival involvement; this could be crucial not only for oral medicine specialists but also for primary dental healthcare personnel and for periodontists. Key words:Mucous membrane pemphigoid, gingival status, clinical features.