Oral Mucosal Therapeutics

This chapter introduces the use of topical and systemic medications for the treatment of common oral conditions. The chapter is designed to meet the needs of dermatologists, dentists, and other healthcare providers, who care for patients with a variety of oral disorders. We highlight treatment pearls and potential pitfalls of therapy. Although many of the agents discussed are commercially available and US Food and Drug Administration approved, the dosing and regimens provided may vary based on the available literature, and thus may be considered to be ‘off-label.’ This chapter focuses on the treatment of erosive gingivostomatitis (desquamative gingivitis), herpetic gingivostomatitis, oral candidiasis, hairy tongue, recurrent aphthous stomatitis (canker sore), acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivostomatitis, mucositis (stomatitis), xerostomia, and burning mouth syndrome (glossodynia).