Habit History in Oral Submucous Fibrosis: Have We Over Emphasized?

Abstract

Aim: Correlation of habit duration and frequency with clinical grading and histopathologic grouping of oral<br />submucous fibrosis (OSMF). Materials and methods: 48 patients with OSMF were included in the study. Detailed<br />history of each patient, clinical profile and habit history were recorded. Biopsy was performed for histopathological<br />correlation. All the findings were correlated with Kerr et al and Khanna and Andrade classification. Statistical Analysis:<br />Kruskal-wallis test was performed to assess the correlation between the study findings. Results: Out of 48 OSMF<br />cases majority were males. Maximum cases were in clinically and histopathologically respectively. Mouth opening<br />was directly proportional with histopathological grouping as per Khanna et al. No correlation between frequency and<br />habit duration with respect to different stages or severity of the OSMF was noted. Conclusion: Disease staging of<br />OSMF clinically and histopathologically is not directly impacted by habit duration and frequency. Rather than habit<br />centered history and management accordingly, more focus should be given to genetics and susceptibility of patient for<br />OSMF development and progression.