Prevalence and Characteristic of Oral Mucosa Lesions

(1) Background: Oral mucosa lesions (OMLs) are diagnosed worldwide in any population, age or gender, but in varied prevalence. OMLs can be found in each site of the oral mucosa; for some of them, it is characteristic to have a bilateral/symmetrical or unilateral/nonsymmetrical mucosal manifestation. The knowledge about its prevalence in varied populations can be useful from a clinical point of view. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of OMLs in patients attending outpatient dental clinic; (2) Retrospective analysis of 2747 patients' oral cavity medical charts, who referred to oral pathology outpatient clinic. The type of diagnosed oral lesion, sex and age were evaluated. p <= 0.05 was considered statistically significant; (3) Results: In this study, the overall prevalence of oral mucosal lesions was found to be higher in older than younger patients. In our study, the age median was the highest in patients with xerostomia, burning mouth syndrome, angular cheilitis and oral candidiasis. The youngest median age was observed in patients with aphthae, mucocele and gingival enlargement. The higher OMLs frequency was related with the female gender. (4) It is important for clinicians to be familiar not only with distinctive features, which sometimes may not be clear, but also with linking the occurrence of OMLs with the gender and age.

Automated summary

Oral mucosa lesions (OMLs) vary in prevalence among different populations, and some have characteristic mucosal manifestations. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of OMLs in patients attending an outpatient dental clinic.