Tobacco Users among the Patients who Visited Dental Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Smoked and smokeless forms of tobacco is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality with inevitable effects on the oral cavity as well. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of tobacco users among the patients who visited dental outpatient departments of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 255 patients visiting the dental outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital over the duration of six months. Data collection was done through personal interviews and clinical examinations. History of tobacco use was taken and patients were divided into current users, never users and ever users. Clinical examination was done using Decayed Missing Filled Teeth index, community periodontal index modified and loss of attachment. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Among 255 patients, 91 (35.69%) (95% Confidence Interval = 29.81-41.57) patients used tobacco. Among them, 72 (28.2%) were current users, who had taken tobacco at least once during the past 30 days and 19 (7.5%) were ever users who had taken tobacco but not during the past 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of tobacco use among our study participants is similar in comparison to that of the general population. Our study shows greater prevalence of the use of a smokeless form of tobacco than the smoked form of tobacco.