Angular Cheilitis
Skin Conditions
Angular cheilitis is an inflammation of the corner of the mouth. This commonly occurs due an opportunistic fungal or bacterial infection taking advantage of irritation of the site due to drooling, poorly fitted dentures, lip licking, contact dermatitis, an allergic reaction, nutritional deficiency, a drug side effect, or trauma.
The most important aspect of treating angular cheilitis is to remove the source of the irritation – proper oral and denture hygiene is especially helpful in most cases and injectable filler may be used to prevent drooling. Blood tests can be used to detect nutritional deficiency and a patch test can help to identify possible allergens. The secondary infection can be treated with topical and oral antifugal/antibiotic medications and the irritation may be reduced with topical steroids.
