Background: Hyperkeratotic lesions located at the angle of the mouth are common among patients attending
dental clinics. Most dentists are unaware of it since the patients are not seeking care. The purpose of the present
study was to find out the incidence of the diagnosed lesions and their relation with the etiologic or initiating factors.
Materials and methods: A total of (112) patient’s (62) males and (50) females having angular hyperkeratotic lesions
were selected from patients attending the dental clinic in Baghdad dental school. The clinical diagnosis and the
progression of the lesions were conducted by using 1% toluidine blue stain to confirm the premalignant potentials
and to delineate the margins of the lesion for the biopsy. Microscopic examinations were done for the confirmation
of the final diagnosis. The associating factors like smoking, alcohol, dental irritation, prosthesis, systemic diseases, and
angular chelitis were recorded in the patient information sheet for the result analysis.
Results: The results showed that the benign hyperkeratotic lesions were the higher (36.6%) in distribution, while the
malignant neoplasms were the 2nd (25.89%) in frequency, followed by premalignant lesions (21.42%), lichen planus
(12.5%), and benign growth (3.57%). Smoking habit was the most common associating factor (54.6%), followed by
angular chelitis (48.2%), dental irritation (43.7%), systemic diseases (35.7%), dental prosthesis (28.5%) and alcohol
consumption 0.05%.
Conclusion: The hyperkeratotic lesions occurred in a wide range of ages. The benign lesions were the most common
types. However a significant number of cases had premalignant and malignant changes. The presence of the
associating factors acting alone or in combination were having a role in the existence of the lesions. The
premalignant potentials increase with age and the chronicity of the associating factors such as smoking and angular
chelitis were having a significant role in existence of the lesions. In addition, the results showed that the angular
hyperkeratotic lesions existed in the majority of the patients were bilateral in behavior. |