Impact of Oral Lichen Planus on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Oral health-related quality of life (OR-QoL) measurement in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) can provide valuable information for the optimal management of their clinical conditions. The main objective of the present study was to assess the OR-QoL of patients with OLP as measured by the short-form Oral Health Impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire. PubMed/MEDLINE, ISI/Web of Science, clinical trial registry, Embase, Scopus, and grey literature (via Google Scholar and Scilit) were searched. Reviewers independently screened titles/abstracts, assessed full-text articles, extracted data, and appraised their quality. Random effect analysis along with subgroup analysis for age, gender, and clinical type was performed. Seventeen studies were included. Mean overall OH-QoL was 15.20, [95% CI 12.176, 18.231]; a higher OHIP-14 score was seen in OLP patients, resulting in poor OH-QoL. The impact of OLP on OH-QoL life was moderate as compared to healthy subjects. However, medical treatment of the disease improved the OH-QoL and thus reduced the impact of OLP on it. OH-QoL among patients with OLP is generally poor. Clinicians and physicians should consider the OH-QoL of these patients as part of patients’ evaluation and modulate the administered treatment based on the OH-QoL response.