The diagnosis of Oral submucous fibrosis [OSMF] is easier when patients report in later stages of the disease after becoming symptomatic and therefore early detection by skillful clinicians is crucial when asymptomatic. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of non-specific chief complaints [CC] in OSMF patients who reported to a dental institution. The objective was to evaluate the association of non-specific OSMF chief complaints with its grading of disease progression. One-year data of OSMF patients (N = 155) were collected retrospectively from the department for analysis. The prevalence of the non-specific CC lesion was assessed using SPSS software. A Chi-square test was used to measure the association between gender and Non-specific Chief complaints and OSMF grading with non-specific chief complaints. 94.07% of males and 5.93% of females had non-specific chief complaints unrelated to OSMF. Among the complaints, toothache [63%] was the predominant followed by stains on teeth [24%], Missing teeth [11%], and tooth mobility [2%]. The asymptomatic cases were exclusively seen in Grade 1 [Kerr et al. classification]. The association between gender and non-specificity of chief complaints was not statistically significant with a P-Value of 0.63 (P > 0.05). The association between the distribution of non-specific chief complaints and grading among OSMF patients was statistically significant with a P-Value of 0.0001 (P < 0.05). Lack of awareness among the public persists in OSMF patients who report to the dental hospital; hence, the clinician must look beyond the reported chief complaint for early diagnosis of OSMF.
