A systematic review of various treatment modalities for oral submucous fibrosis

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a persistent, progressive, pre-cancerous condition of the oral mucosa, which is related with betel quid chewing habit. OSMF is strongly connected with the risk of oral cancer. Studies suggest that the dysplasia is seen in about 25% of biopsied OSMF cases. Hence, it is very important to treat and manage OSMF in early stages. The purpose of this review was to highlight various treatment modalities for OSMF with little emphasis on clinical and histopathological features of OSMF. The literature was searched using “PubMed” and electronic databases from 1994 to 2013. Key words such as OSMF and treatment, treatment modalities for OSMF and management of OSMF were used. A total of 80 articles were retrieved from 1994 to 2014. Among the retrieved articles, only 20 articles were related to medical treatment procedures and four articles reviewed the entire management of OSMF. 10 papers discussed the surgical interventions and the remaining dealt with etiopathogenesis and prevalence of the OSMF. Various types of treatment modalities include conservative methods, medical management, and invasive methods like surgical elimination of the fibrotic bands and combined therapy. Our review of the literature for treatment of OSMF yielded a spectrum of treatment modalities to manage OSMF. Recent literature proves that the combination of drugs produce effective results in the management of OSMF. However, a more extensive clinical trial is necessary to come to a final conclusion about a particular treatment modality in managing OSMF.