Poster Presentation

Oral Submucous Fibrosis – An Enigmatic Disease

Dr Aditaya Sharma

Associate Dentist, Batra Dental Clinic , Amritsar, Punjab, India.

A potentially malignant disorder caused by betel nut chewing quite common in Indian subcontinent but has started to spread to Europe and North America. Commercially freeze dried products such as pan masala, Guthka and mawa (areca and lime) have high concentrates of areca nut per chew and appear to cause OSF more rapidly than by self prepared conventional betel quid that contain smaller amounts of areca nut. Major constituents of betel quid are arecoline from betel nuts and copper, which are responsible for fibroblast dysfunction and fibrosis. Diagnosis depends on history, clinical symptoms and histopathological report. Treatment of OSF is difficult and the principal actions of drug therapy include antifibrotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxygen radical mechanisms and agents that promote blood flow. Here we provide an review on the background of the disease and its etiology and etiopathogenesis.

Keywords – Potentially malignant, areca nut, fibrosis, etiopathogenesis