Quantitative analysis of the efficacy of Papanicolaou, acridine orange, and AgNOR in oral exfoliative smears smokers for detecting micronuclei – A cross-sectional comparative study

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Context: Dentistry and its associated specialties play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating oral diseases due to deleterious oral habits. Oral health-care providers also conduct researches to identify the association between oral diseases resulting from these bad oral habits, such as oral squamous cell carcinoma. Aim: The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to compare the efficacy of exfoliative Papanicolaou staining (PAP) stains, acridine orange (AO), and AgNOR for detecting micronucleus (MN) count in smokers' (individuals with the habit of smoking) oral mucosa. Materials and Methods: Exfoliative cytology smears obtained from thirty smokers' oral mucosa were divided into three equal groups to evaluate the frequency of MN count after staining with PAP, AO, and AgNOR. Smears were collected from smokers' oral mucosa ranging in age from 30 to 70 years who visited the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology and from the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology. Results and Stats: This research revealed the slightly different and higher MN count in PAP stain in the mean count among all the three stains after analysis and evaluation along with considerably higher in AO stain compare to AgNOR stain. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS software (windows Version 22.0 Chicago, IL, USA). Conclusion: In this quantitative, cross-sectional study, with limitations and pitfalls, the results showed higher proliferative activity in smokers' oral mucosa without any oral lesions and higher mean MN count in PAP stain followed by a mean range of AO stains.