Effects of Race, Age, Smoking Habits, Oral and Systemic Disease on Oral Exfoliative Cytology

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Abstract
The effects of race, age, smoking habits, oral and systemic disease on oral exfoliative cytology was studied in 647 white and Negro males, aged 10 to 89 years. Differences in mean cell count between races were not statistically significant for the gingiva, hard palate, tongue and buccal mucosa. Aging was associated with decreased keratiniza-tion in the hard palate and the differences in means among age groups were statistically significant. In the 4 study sites a slightly increased number of keratinized cells was found for those patients who smoked. However, statistically significant differences in mean cell counts between smokers and non-smokers occurred only for the red and blue cells in the buccal mucosa. Patients with a history of recent systemic disease had a significant reduction in the keratinized cell count of the hard palate. This effect was not apparent if oral disease was present concomitantly.