Prevalence of Oral Mucosal Lesions among Geriatric Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal lesions among geriatric patients attending the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Vishnu Dental College (VDC), Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study using a modified World Health Organization (WHO) oral health assessment form for adults (2013) was carried out to perform the clinical assessment of the patient among 600 geriatrics (324 males and 276 females) attending Vishnu Dental College (VDC), Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software version 20.0, International Business Machines Corporation-United States of America (IBM-USA). Chi-squared test was used to analyze the data. The p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Around 40% of the patients presented oral lesions, associated with tobacco, and lesions secondary to prosthesis. Males were more affected than females and this difference was clinically significant (p = 0.00). The lesions were more frequently observed between 60 and 69 years of age. The most common lesion observed was smoker’s melanosis (37%) and the site of occurrence was buccal mucosa (49%) with deleterious habits like smoking and its related lesions (leukoplakia and smoker’s palate) were more prevalent among males while lichen planus and denture stomatitis occurred more frequently in females. Conclusion: The findings of the present study have provided important information on epidemiological aspects of oral mucosal lesions, including the relationship to etiological factors such as smoking, systemic disease, and faulty denture usage, which might prove valuable information in planning future oral health studies and implementing preventive programs in Vishnu Dental College (VDC), Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. Clinical significance: Oral health is important to all age-groups of individuals. Whereas in geriatrics they exhibit different oral environments when compared to younger individuals, hence studies of this nature dealing with oral mucosal lesions will potentially help clinicians in identifying high-risk populations and that would be most beneficial for better oral hygiene programs.