VARIOUS ORAL HABITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVALENCE OF ORAL SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS IN A WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH POPULATION: A CROSS SECTIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY

*Dr. Juhi Gupta (B.D.S., M.D.S), Dr. Pramod Yadav (B.D.S., M.D.S), Dr. Shahla Khan (B.D.S., M.D.S), Dr. Vipul Jain (B.D.S., MBA), Prof. Anshul Aggarwal (B.D.S., M.D.S) and Prof. Pradhuman Verma (B.D.S., M.D.S)

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Oral submucous fibrosis is a chronic debilitating disease of the oral cavity. A condition similar to OSMF has been described as “vidari” in Susrutha under the name of mouth and throat diseases. It is a chronic progressive disease with many etiological factors. It also carries risk of development of cancer. With this background a study was conducted on patient with OSMF and associated oral habits. Aims: Primary objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of oral submucous fibrosis in Western Uttar Pradesh. The secondary objective is to understand the role of various oral habits in the pathogenesis of Oral submucous fibrosis. Material and Method: This unicentric cross sectional study was conducted in the tertiary health care on patient with different oral habits. The study was conducted from January 2020 to March 2022 on 578 patients with clinical diagnosis of oral submucous fibrosis with or without any other oral lesion. Results: Data obtained was tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis. All the variables like age, gender, socioeconomic status, and site of lesions were analysed using the Chi-square test for proportion. Conclusion: Oral sub mucous fibrosis is very common among people belonging to South Asian subcontinent. In India it is more prevalent in Southern part due to common practice of habits like use of areca nut. Awareness related to ill effect of various oral habits need to be increased among the general population.

Keywords: Oral Submucous Fibrosis, Areca nut, Oral cancer, smokeless tobacco.