Oral submucosal fibrosis--a preventable disease.

Oral submucosal fibrosis a preventable disease Oral submucosal fibrosis is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible disease of unknown aetiology. It affects oral, oropharyngeal, and at times oesophageal mucosa. The earliest description of the disease was by Schwartz in 1952,' and the first Indian cases were reported from Bombay2 and Hyderabad.3 At the time the condition was thought to be caused by disordered growth ofcollagen. It has drawn greater clinical attention over the past 15 years and the purpose of this review is to reconsider its epidemiology, aetiology, and successful prevention.