Introduction: Epidemiological studies on Oral Lichen Planus from North America, Europe, Asia and the have reported prevalence rates of 0.5 %-2, 2 %. Few African studies and no South African studies report on prevalence or demographics of the affected patient. Objectives: Describe patients affected by oral lichen planus by age, gender and ethnicity. To describe the intra-oral location of oral lichen planus. METHODS: Oral pathology reports of confirmed diagnosis of oral lichen planus from 1974 to 2008 were analysed from tertiary diagnostic centres within the. Data recorded included patient age, gender, ethnic origin and the intra-oral site of oral lichen planus. Data was captured and analysed on an Excel® spreadsheet. Results: Out of 249 cases analyzed, 182 were female, 65 male and 2 unknown genders. The ethnic origin of 150 females and 51 males were reported. The majority of affected individuals were white females (79%). 2 black males were affected by oral lichen planus. The ethnic distribution of this sample differs from the ethnic distribution one would expect within the. The distribution fit for the does however fit better than that of the entire South African population, according to the 2001 census. The buccal mucosa was the most prevalent site (60.6%). Conclusion: The presented study proves that oral lichen planus can occur in individuals of any ethnic origin. However in this study no black females were affected. Uniformity in data capturing of oral pathology patients is needed due to the limitation of unreported variables. |