Prevalence and management of oral submucous fibrosis and its implications on prosthodontic treatment: A retrospective study

Oral submucous fibrosis is a chronic, premalignant condition that is prevalent in Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Srilanka. Oral cancer accounts for around 30% of the cancer cases in India. It is important to understand the prevalence of the disease for its effective management. The aim of the study was to understand the prevalence of the condition and the popularity of various treatment modalities used in its management, along with the prevalence of OSMF patients requiring prosthetic rehabilitation. Case sheets of around 23,000 patients were reviewed from March 2019 to June 2020 out of which 100 patients were affected by oral submucous fibrosis. To eliminate bias, all patients affected by the disease were included in the study. Epidemiological data of the patient along with their ongoing treatment, was collected and tabulated in MS Excel sheet. The data was then analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 23: The prevalence of OSMF in males was 92% while in females, it was 8%. The age group of 31-40 years was found to be most commonly affected, and pan chewing was observed to be the most common abusive habit amongst OSMF patients. The most common treatment modality used was non-invasive methods within which antioxidant therapy was the most popularly used modality. The increasing prevalence of OSMF amongst the younger population is a matter of great concern. The present study shows the prevalence of OSMF in males, especially in the young and middle-aged population. Thus it is important to increase awareness amongst the youth regarding the condition and to increase awareness amongst the dentists regarding the various treatment modalities to effectively prevent and clinically manage such conditions.