Prevalence of Oral Soft Tissue Lesions in Assam ? India

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral soft tissue lesions in patients who attended the outpatient department of Regional Dental College, Guwahati, Assam (India) during a period from August 2013 to February 2015. About 9224 subjects belonging to urban, semi-urban and rural areas of Assam in North eastern region of India were screened. Out of these about 143 cases showed soft tissue lesions. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS software. Findings 1.55 percent of the population studied had one or more oral lesions associated with prosthetic use, trauma and tobacco consumption etc.143 patients were found to have significant mucosal lesions.35.70 % had Oral lichen planus, 16.80 % had oral submucous fibrosis, 11.9 % had oral leukoplakia, 14 had both both leukoplakia, 9.80 % had oral candidiasis, 7 % had oral squamous cell carcinoma, 5.6 % had oral traumatic ulcer, 3.5 % had geographic tongue, 2.8 % had fissured tongue and chemical burn and1.4 % each had erythroplakia, fibroma and oral pemphigus. Conclusions Cross-sectional studies are important entity in evaluating the prevalence of a disease in the general population. The regional databases and review data from various regions give an understanding of the national scenario. The findings in the present study reveal a high prevalence of oral soft tissue lesions in the community. Close follow up and systematic evaluation is required in this population. Oral soft tissue lesions, Oral lichen planus, oral submucous fibrosis, leukoplakia, oral squamous cell carcinoma. Abbreviations Oral lichen planus- OLP, Oral Submucous fibrosdis-OSMF, Squamous cell carcinoma- SCC.