Background: Tobacco use is one of the most prevalent forms of habit and associated with development of potential malignant disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal lesions (OMLs) among smokeless tobacco users.
Materials and methods: This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study. All the patients with the history of smokeless tobacco habit were included in the study. The patients were interviewed using the preformed questionnaire, including the patient's demographic details, the type of habit, duration, frequency, and the associated oral mucosal pathology. Further, patients were clinically examined and recorded on tobacco-related oral lesions.
Results: Prevalence of OML was 54.18%, and 91.50% being among male and with higher frequency at the age of second and fourth decade. The prevalence of oral submucous fibrosis, leukoplakia, carcinoma, lichen planus, and erythroplakia was 26.95, 10.35, 9.94, 5.5, and 0.66%, respectively. Smokeless tobacco habit was prevailing among males (98.79%) compared to females (9.37%). Frequency of habit-associated OML was statistically significant with odds ratio 0.24.
Conclusion: The study proves a definite association between smokeless tobacco habit and OML. The data necessitate to correlate and follow up the individuals with smokeless form of tobacco habits to establish the definite correlation between the habit and oral mucosal lesions.
Keywords: Leukoplakia; mucosal lesion; oral submucous fibrosis; smokeless tobacco.