Frequency of desquamative gingivitis in skin diseases.

In an attempt to determine the frequency of desquamative gingivitis (DG) in pemphigus vulgaris (PV), bullous pemphigoid (BP), cicatricial pemphigoid (CP), and lichen planus (LP), a large series of patients examined and classified in each group during the years 1972 to 1981 were included in this study. Analysis of the clinical data revealed that, of the four skin diseases, CP manifests as DG in 63.6 percent of the cases. Desquamative gingival lesions are less frequent in LP (25 percent) and in PV (18.4 percent). The great majority of DG patients were females (72.9 percent). Identification of the underlying causes of desquamative gingivitis is of utmost importance and is dependent upon clinical, histologic, and immunologic criteria.