Can toothpaste be used to reduce cheilitis?

Cheilitis is a disease of the lips. Generally, cheilitis can easily lead to dryness, peeling, pain, and even cracking of the lips. It will not only affect personal image, but also the health of the lips, causing unbearable pain in the lips. Toothpaste is a daily necessity. Different types of toothpaste have different effects, but toothpaste cannot cure or reduce inflammation of cheilitis. Medication is needed for treatment.

Can toothpaste be used to reduce cheilitis?

Cheilitis is a mucosal disease with dry, chapped and desquamated lips as the main clinical manifestations. There are various types such as dry and desquamative cheilitis, allergic cheilitis, benign lymphoproliferative cheilitis, granulomatous cheilitis, glandular cheilitis, fungal cheilitis, and photosensitive cheilitis. Cheilitis can be divided into acute and chronic cheilitis according to the course of the disease, and toothpaste cannot reduce inflammation.

Cheilitis is a general term for inflammatory diseases that occur on the lips. According to the course of the disease, there are acute cheilitis and chronic cheilitis; according to the clinical symptoms, there are erosive cheilitis, eczematous cheilitis, and desquamative cheilitis; according to the etiology and pathology, there are chronic nonspecific cheilitis, glandular cheilitis, benign lymphoproliferative cheilitis, granulomatous cheilitis, May-Row syndrome, actinic cheilitis, and allergic cheilitis.

Causes

1. Chronic nonspecific cheilitis

The cause of the disease is unknown, but it may be related to certain long-term and continuous temperature, chemical, or mechanical stimulation factors. For example, addiction to smoking, drinking, hot food; bad habits of licking and biting lips. Related to mental factors.

2. Glandular cheilitis

The cause is still unknown. There is a possibility of autosomal dominant inheritance. Possible acquired factors include the use of toothpaste or mouthwash containing allergenic substances, trauma, smoking, poor oral hygiene, emotions, etc. Some people believe that this disease is a manifestation of Crohn's disease.

3. Benign lymphoproliferative cheilitis

The cause is unknown. This may be related to the proliferation of primitive lymphoid tissue remaining during embryonic development under light radiation.

4. Plasma cell cheilitis

The cause is unknown. It may be related to local peripheral circulatory disorders, endocrine disorders, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases; local long-term mechanical stimulation such as stimulation from dentures or light stimulation may also be the cause of this disease.

5. Granulomatous cheilitis

The cause is unknown. It may be related to bacterial or viral infection, allergic reaction, vasomotor disorder, genetic factors, etc.

6. Mayer-Röhler syndrome

The cause is unknown. Genetic factors, infectious factors, allergic factors, and vasomotor disorders may be related to this disease.

7. Actinic cheilitis

Actinic cheilitis is a cheilitis caused by excessive exposure to sunlight, and the cause is an allergy to ultraviolet rays in sunlight.

8. Allergic cheilitis

Allergic cheilitis is cheilitis caused by contact with allergens. Certain foods, drugs, infectious factors, mental factors, physical factors, etc. can all be the triggering factors of this disease.

Clinical manifestations

1. Chronic nonspecific cheilitis

It can be divided into chronic desquamative cheilitis with desquamation as the main feature and chronic erosive cheilitis with exudation and erosion as the main feature.

(1) Chronic desquamative cheilitis is more common in women under 30 years old, with the lower lips being the most severe. In mild cases, there is desquamation, while in severe cases, there may be scaling. Secondary infection may occur, resulting in mild edema and congestion, and the condition may persist for months to years without healing.

(2) Chronic erosive cheilitis: The red part of the lips becomes eroded and peeled off, with inflammatory exudate, forming yellow scabs, or bleeding and coagulating into blood scabs, or purulent secretions forming pus scabs after secondary infection. It occurs repeatedly and may heal temporarily, but it often recurs.

2. Glandular cheilitis

It is common in adult males and can be divided into three types: simple type, superficial suppurative type, and deep suppurative type.

(1) Simple glandular cheilitis is most common in which dilated glandular duct openings can be seen on the lips, and mucus-like substances are often discharged from the duct openings.

(2) Superficial purulent glandular cheilitis is caused by simple secondary infection, and slightly turbid or purulent fluid is discharged when the gland opening is squeezed.

(3) Deep suppurative glandular cheilitis is a condition in which repeated abscesses occur on the basis of simple and superficial suppurative types, resulting in deep infection and suppuration, and fistula. This disease may become cancerous, mostly developing from deep suppurative type.

3. Benign lymphoproliferative cheilitis

Most of the patients are young and middle-aged women. The middle part of the lower lip is the most prone area. The damage is usually limited to less than 1 cm. Lip lesions are initially dry, scaly or without skin, followed by erosions covered with light yellow scabs, with local paroxysmal severe itching.

4. Plasma cell cheilitis

It mainly affects the lower lip and is more common in middle-aged and elderly people. Initially, small blisters appear on the lip mucosa, which quickly break and form scabs. If the surface is not eroded, localized dark red edematous plaques with clear boundaries can be seen, and the surface has a paint-like luster. In the later stage, there may be atrophic changes of the mucosa. But it is easy to recur.

5. Granulomatous cheilitis

It is more common in young and middle-aged people, with a slow onset and course, and more common on the upper lip. Generally, the swelling starts from one side of the lip, and is characterized by being painless, non-itching, and no pitting edema when pressed. As the disease progresses, it spreads to the entire lip, forming a giant lip with symmetrical longitudinal fissures that appear corrugated.

6. Mayer-Röhler syndrome

Most patients are young people under 20 years old. The triad of Mayer-Röhm syndrome is recurrent orofacial swelling, recurrent peripheral facial palsy, and fissure tongue.

7. Actinic cheilitis

This disease is more common in summer and has obvious seasonal factors. Clinically it is divided into two categories.

(1) Acute actinic cheilitis is caused by a history of sun exposure, with an acute onset and more often on the lower lip. It manifests as extensive edema, congestion, and erosion in the red area of ​​the lips, covered with blood crusts, obvious burning sensation, and severe itching, involving the entire lower lip, affecting eating and speaking.