Prevalence Of OSMF In Patients With Different Types Of Pan Chewing Habits - A Dental Hospital Based Retrospective Study

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), a premalignant and crippling condition of the oral mucous membrane. Relationship between chewing habits and oral submucous fibrosis have been identified. It was found that chewing areca nut/quid or pan masala was directly related to OSMF. Smoking tobacco with various other chewing habits are also the risk factors for OSMF. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of oral submucous fibrosis among patients with chewing habits. The study was done in an institutional setting. The present study is a retrospective study in which the case records of 1042 patients with chewing habits were reviewed and details such as gender, age, presence or absence of OSMF, patients with chewing habit and type of chewing habit were collected. Details were tabulated in excel and results were obtained using SPSS. Chi square analysis was performed to find out the association between different variables. 1042 patients had chewing habits. The prevalence of OSMF among patients having chewing habits was 14.78%. Highest number of male patients were seen at 31-40 years of age. Highest number of female patients were seen in 41-50 years of age. 61.5% of patients use pan. Patient awareness about OSMF and its potential to transform into malignancy is still needed in many rural areas. The progressive and irreversible nature of the disease makes it one of the dangerous potentially malignant disorders. Till date no promising treatment is available for OSMF which makes prevention of this disease paramount.