Etiology: associated with tobacco and alcohol use, dietary deficiencies and lifestyle factors may be responsible, chronic friction and exposure to irritants producing chronic inflammation are known sources
Transmission: not contagious
Characteristics: velvety red color or dark pink; sometimes corrugated, pebbly, or very smooth; broad or coalescing, circumscribed or localized; often interspersed with lighter areas, representing keratosis; lesions may be hard or they may be soft when palpated
Dental Implications: should be assessed for cancer cells; area should be guarded, watched carefully and biopsied
Treatment: depends upon histological diagnosis; dysplastic areas are excised, depending upon the site, type and results of the erythematous lesion biopsy; some cases call for radiation and chemo; suggests a follow-up for potential malignant lesions
Prognosis: Follow up recalls should be every 1,3,6,12 months.