Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The definition of health in the 5th century BC by  Pindar was “harmonious functioning of the organs” which prioritizes all the aspects of health including the oral health of an individual. It is a vital part of general health however  people often do not give much concern to one’s oral hygiene and health.. The popularity of tobacco chewing and smoking has become tenfold in the last decade, and it has started to  defy rational explanation. Smokers these days are of all ages from early teenagers to very old age, mostly men although certain geographical areas do have women as the prevalence.The habit has caused many deleterious and debilitating  effects in the oral cavity and mucosa  carrying a very  high risk of leading to oral carcinomas. Out of all the oral cancers that are present, tobacco consumption certainly affects  50% of all the cancers in India.If the rate of consumption, and lack of awareness of the ill effects of tobacco continues, the WHO predicts that mortality may exceed by  1.5 million in the next few years.

Although there are various tobacco products both smoke and smokeless types, smoking is the most common which includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes or water pipes. Among the smokeless tobacco there are many products that are easily available of which Pan and Gutka is  the most common chewing habit found in previous studies with 63.7%. Potentially malignant Disorder (OPMD) arises due to the chronic use of tobacco either smoke or smokeless or in some cases both. The southeast asian countries have the highest rate of malignancy involving the oral cavity which is 12.6 per 100000 whereas in the western geography oral malignancies represent only 3%. Oral submucous fibrosis [OSMF]  is a potentially malignant disorder defined as “ chronic insidious scarring disease of the oral cavity”. The sites usually affected are buccal mucosa , labial mucosa, retromolar pad, soft palate and floor of mouth. Burning sensation of the mouth , xerostomia and characteristic blanching with marble like appearance. Limited mouth opening , dysphagia , and speech are observed in the advanced stages. There is a high risk of transformation of OSMF to carcinoma and the 5 year survival rates of patients remain 70-80% with stage 1 and 2 oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC). Therefore early detection of OSMF is important in preventing new incidences of OSCC and to develop strategies for prevention. The present study was hence conducted to determine the  impact of clinical stages of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) on oral health related quality of life of OSMF patients.