Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in smokers and non-smokers: A cross-sectional study in a male Egyptian population

Introduction : Smoking represents a chief health problem, and it is associated with high rates of fatal destructive events. Smoking is major risk factor for developing several oral mucosal lesions. Furthermore, it can result in epithelial dysplasia and subsequent increase in the risk for the development of oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer. Subjects and methods : The present cross-sectional study included 1000 male participants and they were divided into 2 groups; smokers and non-smokers. All participants were clinically examined together with full-mouth intra-oral photographs were taken for all of them. Results : The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions was higher in the smokers’ group (82%), in which white and pigmented OMLs were found to be the most prevalent forms. Additionally, the prevalence of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) in smokers was higher than in non-smokers. However, it didn’t show a significant difference, On the other hand, the prevalence of oral ulcers in non-smokers was higher than in smokers and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: White and pigmented OMLs were the most prevalent forms detected among smokers.