Evaluation of Micronuclei and Cytomorphometric Changes in Patients with Different Tobacco Related Habits Using Exfoliated Buccal Cells.

Tobacco in any consumable form is genotoxic. Smoking and smokeless tobacco, when consumed together, synergistically causes higher genetic damage. Different tobacco habits have different deleterious effects on oral mucosa, and these effects are more pronounced when the patients have combined habits. So, detecting the genotoxic changes through exfoliative cytology can be used as a simple yet reliable marker for early detection of carcinogenesis.<br />.