Nicotine replacement therapy: a treatment angle for oral diagnostician

Abstract

Oral cancers have become very common tumors among the people mainly because of the tobacco habits addiction. Epidemiological studies show that the risk of developing oral cancer is five to nine times greater for smokers than for nonsmokers, and this risk may increase to as much as 17 times greater for extremely heavy smokers of 80 or more cigarettes per day.1 As an oral diagnostician, we come across day to day at least one lesion which is habit associated, it might be either smoking, smokeless tobacoo or gutka or pan chewing. In spite of educating the patients about the ill effects of all this deleterious habits, patient won’t quit the habits. So it is important for us find some alternative method to motivate and help the patient to stop habits. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is one of the methods to quit the habit of smoking. This term is heard long time back but still we feel personally, the most of the general dentists are unaware about NRT and its dosing. We have tried to briefly enlighten about the NRT, its mechanism, various modes and its dosages which might guide the general dentists to use NRT regularly in their private practice and thereby prevent the transformation of premalignant lesions into oral carcinoma. Ingredients of tobacco