title: Comparative study of the efficacy of herbal antioxdants oxitard and aloe vera in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant disorder predominantly seen in the Indian subcontinent due to areca nut, tobacco and their products. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of oxitard and aloe vera in the management of OSMF.
  
  
  METHODS
  120 subjects with OSMF were included in the study. The patients were clinico-pathologically diagnosed and divided equally in 2 groups, Group A (oxitard group) and Group B (aloe vera group). Group A was administered 2 oxitard capsules twice daily and Group B was given 5 mg aloe vera gel to be applied topically thrice daily for 3 months. Different clinical parameters were evaluated at regular intervals. Data was analyzed using the Student's paired t test and Chi-square test. P-value <0.001 was considered to be statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical improvements in mouth opening and tongue protrusion was significant in the oxitard group (p=0.0005). Subjective symptoms of pain associated with the lesion (p=0.0003), difficulty in swallowing (p=0.0000) and speech (p=0.0001) also significantly improved in the Group A. The improvement in burning sensation was not statistically significant between the 2 groups (p=0.002). There was a mild to moderate decrease in the size of the lesion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though there is no definitive treatment for the condition however, overall assessment of symptoms like mouth opening, tongue protrusion, difficulty in swallowing and speech and pain associated with the lesion showed that oxitard capsules can bring about significant clinical improvements than aloe vera gel in the treatment of OSMF. Key words:Oral submucous fibrosis, oxitard capsules, aloe vera, burning sensation, mouth opening.
authors.affiliation: Reader, Dept of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Chattisgarh Dental College Research Institute, Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh. India.
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Dept of Dentistry, Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, Belgaum,Karnataka. India.
authors.forename: Vishal
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Halgatti
authors.affiliation: Dental Practitioner, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
authors.forename: Sneha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maheshwari
authors.affiliation: Reader, Dept of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chattisgarh Dental College Research Institute, Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh. India.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Santosh