Preliminary report on prevalence of oral cancer and precancerous lesions among dental patients in Saudi Arabia

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Abstract
Abstract— The study consisted of 674 consecutive examinations done on patients on their first visit the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, over a 1‐yr period starting January 1983. Men outnumbered women and 69% ofthe patients were Saudi Arabian nationals. Oral cancer was seen in one non‐Saudi, whereas the overall prevalence of leukoplakia was 1.9%. The other lesions were leukoedema 8.3%, nicotinic stomatitis 2.5%, and lichen planus 0.6%. Except for lichen planus, all the lesions were almost exclusively found in men with a close relationship to oral tobacco habits. Leukoedema, nicotinic stomatitis and leukoplakia showed a tendency to occur together in varying combinations among smokers.