Actinic Keratosis Treatment for your Best Smile from a Memphis Dermatologist
- George Woodbury
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
by George Woodbury Jr. M.D. (04/06/2025)
What makes a vibrant smile? Clear skin, smooth lips, and good dental hygiene, with a touch of good spirit and good humor. The good news is that Dermatologists have a growing list of effective therapies to help you with your best smile.
Keeping your smile youthful and vibrant needs to start with taking a look at invisible light called Ultraviolet light or UV rays, because UV is the major cause of aging of our skin, sunburn, and Skin Cancer, giving our skin a leather-like texture that Dermatologists call Photoaging. Let’s look at management of Actinic Keratosis (also called Solar Keratosis) – what they are, why they’re important, and management – my perspective being that of a practicing Memphis Dermatologist for the past 33 years – with Rheumatology and Dermatology Associates – 8143 Walnut Grove Road, Cordova TN 38018: (1-901-753-0168).
An Actinic Keratosis (plural: actinic keratoses) is a skin roughness caused by UV light exposure, often starting in a person’s twenties and thirties. Solar keratoses occur in all races, but are common among people who like to spend time in the sun, or in tanning parlors.
What does a solar keratosis look like? It’s often a rough, dry, and scaly growth, most frequent in sun-exposed parts of the body. Solar Keratoses frequently become itchy, or sore, being skin that’s been damaged by UV light.
Why are Solar Keratoses important? 10 and 20% of these lesions later develop into a type of Skin Cancer called Squamous Cell Carcinoma, or Squamous Cell Skin Cancer, a condition that’s unfortunately increasing rather than decreasing in incidence. Approximately 9,000 Americans die of Squamous Cell Skin Cancer each year, the same level of fatalities that we’re currently seeing from the Melanoma type of Skin Cancer.
The good news is that early detection of Skin Cancer, including Melanoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Basal Cell Carcinoma through Skin Cancer Screening definitely saves lives.
Fortunately, in 2025, Dermatologists have a growing number of helpful Actinic Keratosis treatments. In our Dermatology offices, Dermatologists like myself often use what’s called cryotherapy or freezing with liquid nitrogen to treat Solar Keratoses. Another option – called photodynamic therapy – uses a sun-sensitizing chemical to remove this type of growth from the skin. And sometimes we use different types of laser light to effectively burn off Actinic Keratoses.
Dermatologists now have five main prescription creams and gels for Actinic Keratosis:
a.) Flluorouracil cream (Efudex® Cream, Carac® Cream, and Fluoroplex® Cream) – a chemotherapy agent that’s been used internally for many years and which is now available in several topical forms (for use on top of the skin);
b.) imiquimod cream (Aldara® Cream), an agent that works on the immune responses of the skin, and
c.) Diclofenac Cream (Solareze® Cream), a topical Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent.
d.) Retin A Cream or Retin A Gel (Tretinoin Cream or Tretinoin Gel) is a helpful Retinoid or Vitamin A prescription that can be used to treated Actinic Keratoses and as an Antiwrinkle Cream because of its skin peeling effects
e.)Klysiri Ointment (Tirbanibulin Ointment) – a new prescription topical ointmentwith a quicker onset of action.
Dermatologists have also used over-the-counter Alpha-hydroxy acid creams (AHAs) – organic moisturizers originally discolored in fruits and sugarcane – such as Glycolic Acid – present in GlycoShea™ Facial&Neck Lotion– and GlycoShea™ Hand&Body Lotion- products of Big River Silk Skincare Inc. (www.Bigriversilkskincare.com), a company of which I am the President. Glycolic Acid works on the skin’s Epidermis, the outermost layer, with a chemical peel effect, improving the appearance of fine lines in the skin, making it into an Antiwrinkle Cream.
If you or a family member has a skin growth or lesion that’s changing or enlarging, it’s a wise move to get that lesion checked by a Board-certified Dermatologist. My own Memphis Dermatology practice is in Cordova, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, near Germantown, Collierville, and Bartlett. Or you could find a “Dermatologist Near Me”, or “Dermatologists Near Me”, or “Best Dermatologist Near Me” or “Best Dermatologists Near Me” by going to the American Academy of Dermatology web site: AAD.org. Just plug you zip code into the ‘Find a Dermatologist’ tab, and you’ll get a list of Dermatologists nearly.
George R. Woodbury Jr. M.D.
Rheumatology and Dermatology Associates PC
President of Big River Silk Skincare Inc.
8143 Walnut Grove Road
Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 753-0168 (Office)
(04/06/2025)
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