ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Year : 2021  |  Volume : 5  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 1-7

Comparative evaluation of alteration in salivary flow rate between betal Nut/Gutkha chewers with and without OSMF, and healthy subjects: A prospective case-control study

F Lalfamkima¹, Suresh Babu Bommaji², Kailasa Kumar Reddy³, K Venkata Chalapathi⁴, Manisha B Patil⁵, Tejal R Patil⁶, Abhishek Singh Nayyar^7
1 Consultant Dental Surgeon, Dental Department, Civil Hospital, Aizawl, Mizoram, India
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Malla Reddy Institute of Dental Sciences, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, St. Joseph Dental College, Eluru, India
⁴ Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Care Dental College, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
⁵ Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Nanded Rural Dental College and Research Center, Nanded, India
⁶ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Dental College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai, India
⁷ Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Saraswati-Dhanwantari Dental College and Hospital and Post-Graduate Research Institute, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India

Correspondence Address:
Abhishek Singh Nayyar
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Saraswati-Dhanwantari Dental College and Hospital and Post-Graduate Research Institute, Parbhani, Maharashtra
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

Read associated Notice of Retraction: Retraction: Comparative evaluation of alteration in salivary flow rate between betal Nut/Gutkha chewers with and without OSMF, and healthy subjects: A prospective case-control study with this article

DOI: 10.4103/oji.oji_22_20

Context: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) has infested the oral cavities of “betel nut” and “gutkha” chewers in a pandemic manner. It has one of the highest rates of malignant transformation among the various oral potentially malignant epithelial lesions. Chewing of gutkha alters the salivary parameters including salivary flow rate (SFR) as well as salivary pH. Aim: The present study intended to assess and compare the SFR between betel nut/gutkha chewers with and without OSMF and healthy controls. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective case–control study comprising 90 individuals within an age range of 15–50 years who were divided into three groups with Group A consisting of 30 patients who were betel nut/gutkha chewers with OSMF, Group B consisting of 30 individuals who were betel nut/gutkha chewers but without OSMF and Group C consisting of 30 healthy controls who were included as normal controls. The assessment of the SFR was done and the results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The mean SFR in Group B patients was significantly more than Group A and Group C individuals. Moreover, the mean SFR in patients with OSMF Stage I was significantly more as compared to patients in Stage II and Stage III OSMF. Conclusion: We concluded that reduced SFR could be an initial subjective sign of OSMF. An early diagnosis and management of these changes can help such patients to improve their quality of life significantly and decreases the chance of the ongoing malignant transformation with early intervention.

Keywords: Betel nut, gutkha chewers, oral submucous fibrosis, salivary flow rate