Practice, attitude, and knowledge of dental practitioners towards oral submucous fibrosis

Abstract

OSMF (Oral submucous fibrosis) is seen in the oral cavity and depicts a precancerous condition marked by progressive submucosal tissue fibrosis with inflammatory components leading to trismus and rigidity in the oral cavity. OSMF remains a quandary for oral clinicians owing to less-defined classification criteria and evasive pathogenesis. The present clinical study was conducted to assess the practice, attitude, and knowledge of dental practitioners towards oral submucous fibrosis and its management. The present questionnaire-based clinical study included 520 participants who were assessed using the self-administered questionnaire given and explained to them. The questions in the questionnaire were formulated to assess the practice, attitude, and knowledge of dental practitioners towards oral submucous fibrosis. The collected data were assessed and the results were formed. The study results showed that among all the study participants, the majority of the participants were aware of betel quid being the most common etiology associated with OSMF and the commonly seen oral feature in OSMF subjects is blanching of the oral mucosa. Within its limitations, the present study concludes that oral health care practitioners have good knowledge concerning clinical features and diagnosis of OSMF. However, the knowledge among dental students about the OSMF management strategies was moderate.