Oral Lichen Planus Flare-Ups and Covid Questions

I am a new member of the Group. Thank you for the chance to share and to learn.

I have Two Questions for the group:

First, I have had erosive lichen planus for almost three years. My first question is whether flare-ups always appear in the same spot in the mouth or can they appear in different locations over time?

Specifically, my lichen planus is under my tongue. I'm curious whether it can spread to areas of my gums? I have been experiencing some type of issue with the gum tissue around several teeth in my lower mouth. It is probably related to a mild form of gingivitis (what my hygienist and dentist believes), but did want to ask this question to see if anyone else on the forum has dealt with a similar issue.

Second Question relates to Covid and OLP. My wife traveled to Alaska on business during August of 2022. She took all appropriate precautions to protect against Covid (the best masks...never removed them on the plane...always wore them during meetings, etc.). Nevertheless, she contracted Covid and began to evidence symptoms the day after she returned. I starting showing symptoms about a day later. My version was much worse than hers. Very high fever, but fortunately broke the day before we were going to take me to the ER. I then recovered nicely and thought all was well. However, almost one month later while I was undergoing my standard dental cleaning, my dentist noticed something odd under my tongue. This turned out to be OLP. My only occasional dental issues prior to this was occasional canker sores and an odd bought of oral thrush about eight years earlier (odd in that we could never determine what caused it).

Which brings me to my Second Question: Could Covid have initiated my OLP? I am absolutely convinced that it did because of the timing. To me it is a simple version of cause and effect. However, I can only find random reports of specialists online making such a connection. What are the thoughts of the forum?

So you know, an oral specialist at the Univ of Washington Dental Clinic and my Dentist have been closely monitoring my mouth since I was diagnosed. I live in Metro Seattle and am 71 yrs old. Very athletic for my age and in excellent health...except for this minor detail!

Thanks for the feedback.