THE PREVALENCE OF FISSURED TONGUE IN 2050 INDIAN PATIENTS: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background The tongue is an accessible organ of oral cavity and is an indicator of oral and general health. Fissured tongue is a condition seen on the dorsal surface of the tongue which is characterized by the presence of shallow or deep grooves. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of fissured tongue and most prevalent pattern of fissured tongue in patients visiting the Vydehi Institute of Dental Sciences and possible association between occurrence of these fissures and sex, habits, medical illness, and symptoms. Methods Cross sectional Study was conducted consisting of 2050 patients visiting the outpatient department between years January 2010 to March 2011. All the participants were interviewed for their medical history, symptoms related to tongue lesions, habit history and examined for the presence or absence of fissure and pattern of fissure. Results Overall tongue fissures were present in 80.68%. Most prevalent pattern of fissure found to be central longitudinal fissuring (35.06 %), while least prevalent was double fissures (1.70 %) pattern. Conclusions Fissured tongue is relatively common condition. In our study, overall prevalence rate was high as compared to the previous studies.