PREVALENCE OF EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA IN ORAL LEUKOPLAKIA AND ITS CLINICAL CORRELATION; A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence rate of epithelial dysplasia (ED) among leukoplakia and its clinical characteristics among south Indian population. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional retrospective observational study was conducted in two centers including a private dental hospital and a private dental college, India. Twenty nine patients' details were included, the clinical findings such as age, gender, clinical appearance. site of involvement, associated tobacco habits and the histotopathological findings were retrieved from the medical records of OL patients reported between 2015-16. Statistical analysis: The data were statistically analyzed with chi-square test for comparing the tobacco habit, site of occurrence of clinical type of OL and presence of ED using SPSS version 21 [IBM, Armonk, NY, USA]. Results: Among the twenty nine cases, 26 (89.65%) OL cases were males and 3 (10.35%) were females and the ratio was 1:0.11. The predominant clinical type observed was homogenous (19; 65.50%) followed by 10 non-homogenous (34.50%). Histopathological examination revealed epithelial dysplasia (ED) in 16 (55.17%) cases, out of which 4 (25%) were mild, 7 (43.75%) were moderate and 5 (31.25%) showed severe dysplastic changes with statistical significant difference among homogenous and non-homogenous types with chi-square value of 18.092a and p value of 0.00. Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of dysplasia in both homogenous and non-homogenous OL and emphasizes that the decision for microscopic analysis and early intervention should be independent of the clinical type of OL.