Oral Mucosal Lesions among Tobacco Users in Chennai, Tamil Nadu:A cross sectional study

Background: Oral cancer is eighth most common cancer worldwide. They may arise from potentially malignant disorders¹. The etiology of Oral cancer is multifactorial, the most common among those are the effects of tobacco usage⁷. The tobacco is used in various forms in our country Tobacco chewing and smoking are associated with oral mucosal lesions such as Leukoplakia, Oral submucous Fibrosis which are potentially malignant lesions⁹. This study was aimed at identifying the prevalence of these oral mucosal lesions and to motivate the tobacco users about the various deleterious effects associated with tobacco and to help them to quit their habits.

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions among the tobacco users in Chennai.

Materials and Method: The study sample was randomly selected and comprised 1483 patients attending the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Sree Balaji Dental College and hospital, Chennai between January 2017 and December 2018. The ages ranged from 18 to 65years and are tobacco users were eligible to participate in the study. The data collected was tabulated in Microsoft Excel and further analysed using SPSS Version 21.0(IBM), software for statistical analysis.

Results: A total of 1483 patients were examined to diagnose the lesions associated with the use of tobacco. The most frequently seen lesion was Smokers Melanosis [921(62.1%)]followed by Frictional Keratosis [696(46.9%)],Periodontal Inflammation [551(37.2%)], Leukoedema [304(20.5%)] and Stomatitis Nicotina Palatini [160(10.8%)].

Conclusion: The overall prevalence of potentially malignant disorders have slight variations when compared to other studies. This may be due to difference in habits, duration and frequency of use.