Prevalence and Pattern of Self-medication with Alternative Medicine: Treatment-switch Analysis in Oral Submucous Fibrosis Patients.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence and pattern of self-medication with alternative medicine (ALM) among oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) patients with emphasis on treatment-switch analysis. METHODS: A total of 115 OSF patients were recruited and subjected to scientifically validated questionnaire. Two groups were identified: S-ALM: patients who have previously received modern medicinal treatment but switched to ALM; and DN-ALM: patients who started ALM from De Novo. RESULTS: A total of 37 (32.18%) patients reported use of the ALM at some point of time. Twenty-five (67.56%) switched to ALM, whereas 12 (32.43%) patients used ALM from De Novo. The pattern of switching to ALM in short period was significantly prevalent in patients with advanced stages (stage III and IV) as compared to early stages (stage I and II) of OSF. Clarified butter, glycerin, and honey were the most commonly used ALM in both the groups. The most common reasons for switching to ALM were the cost of treatment (32.00%), longer duration of medicinal treatment (24.00%) and ineffectiveness of the medications (24.00%). CONCLUSIONS: ALM usage is common in OSMF patients with significant percentage of patient switched from modern medicine to ALM. Therapeutic efficacy of ALM in OSF needs exploration in future.

Chronic periodontitis and the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: facts and figures.

Substantial evidence supports an association between periodontal disease and several systemic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, osteoporosis etc. Periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory condition, is highly prevalent in adult populations around the world, and may be preventable. Estimates of prevalence vary between races and geographic regions, with a marked increase in the occurrence of periodontal disease with advancing age. Worldwide estimates for the prevalence of severe periodontal disease generally range from 10 to 15%. The relationship between periodontal disease and cancer has been examined for a number of specific cancer sites. The grim statistics of head and neck cancer incidence and survival have remained essentially unchanged over the past 3 decades despite the prevention efforts against known risk factors of head and neck cancer, and advances in the diagnosis and treatment, arguing forcibly for new insights regarding the etiology as well as the strategies for prevention. Recent reports have linked periodontal disease with increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck. This review provides current literature for a role of periodontal disease in carcinogenesis of head and neck region and discusses possible biological mechanisms involved.