Tobacco usage in any form has devastating effects on the health of the person including oral and pharyngeal cancer, which is one of the major causes of death.

This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of tobacco consumption in various forms among dental outpatients.

Patients reporting to the outpatient department of the College of Dental Sciences, Davangere, Bengaluru, India, were evaluated for the presence or absence of habit. Habit history was recorded using standardized proforma from every patient, and the obtained data was assessed in relation to age, gender, duration of habit, and frequency of tobacco consumption.

Among the 507 study participants, habits were present in 115 (22.68%), among which 101 (87.82%) were males and 14 (12.17%) were females. Among males, raw tobacco chewing and gutkha chewing had equal prevalence [25 (21.73%)] followed by cigarette smoking [23 (20%)]. In females, tobacco chewing [10 (8.69%)] was the most common habit and none of them smoked tobacco. Habits were more prevalent between the age group of 16 and 30 years. The results were found to be highly significant on applying chi-square test.

Higher prevalence of tobacco usage among the study population as compared with other studies needs to be addressed and counseled.

Diliprao PP, Madhushankari GS, Mohankumar KP, Praveen SB, Chandrappa PR, Nandini DB. Prevalence of Tobacco Habits in Dental Outpatients. CODS J Dent 2016;8(1):9-11.