Prevalence and Distribution of Oral Leukoplakia in Patients Attending Oral Medicine Department at Dentistry College in Tishreen University

Abstract

Background: To find out the prevalence and distribution of oral leukoplakia in patients who are visiting the Department of Oral Medicine at Tishreen University is necessary to assess oral health and identify the risks of malignant transformation. Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence and distribution of oral leukoplakia in the patients who visited the Department of Oral Medicine at Tishreen University. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 500 patients of the Tishreen Oral Medicine Department at Tishreen University. The number of males was 348 and females 152. The number of who drink alcohol was 117 and non-alcoholic 383. The number of smokers was 279 and non-smokers 221. The average age of the sample was 52 years. Results: We found that the percentage of leukoplakia in the sample was 2.8%. There was a statistically significant correlation between leukoplakia and smoking, drinking alcohol, Increase in age and sex, and no relation was found with general diseases. Conclusions: Increased incidence and associated risk factors (smoking, drinking alcohol, increasing age and sex) require dentists to carefully examine Oral mucosa for early detection of precancerous changes and therefore early treatment.