Oral Submucous Fibrosis - A Review

Abstract

A common oral disease named as oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) has the tendency to usually affect many areas of the oral cavity as well as involving the area of pharynx. The characteristic feature of oral submucous fibrosis is the fibrosis in submucosal area which involves maximum part of oral cavity leading to advanced lock jaw as a result of rigidity in cheeks, pharynx, lips and upper third part of the oesophageal canal progressing to dysphagia. It has been reported that OSMF occurs mainly in persons who are habituated to chew areca nut or products containing areca nut along with other ingredients. In recent years with the introduction of commercially available Gutka and other areca nut products, the incidence of OSMF is increasing especially in the younger generations. OSMF is irreversible and persists even after cessation of chewing habit and the severity increases along with the duration of habit. In 2007, the categorization of oral submucous fibrosis was done as a premalignant condition by WHO and it has higher chances of malignant transformation. Early diagnosis and application of proper treatment modality is mandatory to reduce morbidity and mortality rate. There are many classification systems that have been proposed in literature for oral submucous fibrosis, among which many are based on clinical features, some of them on functional aspects and others are based on histopathological aspects. Here is an attempt to enlighten the facts and recent updates of clinical, functional, histopathological features as well as pathogenesis and management of oral submucous fibrosis. The complete knowledge of oral submucous fibrosis is a useful to the clinicians as well as academicians and researchers for timely detection and proper management of the disease. KEY WORDS Oral Submucous Fibrosis, Precancerous Lesions, Precancerous Conditions, Sclerosing Stomatitis