The Journal
Discussion
The purpose of the study was to provide the oral health status in the patients having HNC and oral cancer . In the present study oral cancer accounts for 64.06 % cases while earlier
10,11,12,13
studies show a lower oral cancer prevalence with 24 to 28 % of the total HNC cases . A little higher reported oral cancer cases
14
are being reported by Shinde et al with 41.28 % cases , this difference in the prevalence of oral cancer within a country reported can be due to difference of tobacco consumption and form of tobacco in this diverse country .
15
Reddy et al reported that among HNC and oral cancer patients , 65.2 % of the patients had poor oral hygiene status which is similar to the present study , on a contrary Galindo et al16 have reported majority of the study participants with good oral hygiene status . Good oral hygiene status is reported in 4.55 % of the patients in the present study but in contrary Reddy et al15 didn ’ t find any patient with good oral hygiene status .
In the present study CPI code 2 ( calculus ) is reported for 45.87 % cases while according to Reddy et al15 it was reported only in 21.8 %
17
cases whereas Wahi revealed that maximum percentage with 90.9 % of study participants had CPI code 2 ( calculus ) and 3 ( pocket 4-5 mm ). Most of the subjects in the present study had calculus and periodontal pockets of 3mm which is similar to the study done by Rezende et
5
al but survey conducted by Holmgren et
18
al showmore prevalenceof shallow and deep pockets in the surveys . In the present study shallow and deep pockets of more than 6mm was found only in 1.24 % of the cases . In the present research decayed teeth were found in 55.37 % of the cases
5 whereas study conducted by Rezende et al showed that 100 % of the patients had decayed
5
teeth . Rezende et al reported missing teeth in the 100 % of the cases while in the present study it was found only in 66.53 % of the patients .
Filled teeth were found only in 7.44 % of the
5
patients whereas in Rezende et al research filled teeth were reported in 100 % of the patients . The limitation in the present study is that authors try to obtain information on the exposure and potential confounding factors through interviews , and such information could be subject to recall bias . The strength of the present study is that authors have taken the maximum sample of HNC and Oral cancer to examine the oral health status till date .
Conclusion
Prevention is the best possible way to fight cancer by early examination and diagnosis so that risk factors can be eliminated . Therefore focus should be on to have more health programs and initiatives that promote periodic oral examination . The results indicate the existence of correlation between poor oral health status and HNC and oral cancer . The present study opens new ventures of further research in future . Longitudinal studies considering other variables such as staging , nutritional status etc . should be conducted so as to make this situation more evident , determining clearly the role of poor oral health status as a risk factor for HNC and oral cancer .
Agreement
All the authors declare that each and every aspects of the work ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved .
10 3 20 Vol . 12 No . 23 May-August Sept-Dec 2016