Prevalence, sex distribution of oral lesions in patients attending an oral diagnosis clinic in Sulaimani University

Abstract EN

Background : Oral lesions prevalence studies are important to know the state of health and the needs of treatment.

The age, gender, educational, socioeconomic, and cultural levels, smoking, medications used, and systemic diseases are factors that could predispose the presence of oral lesions.

The present study was designed to determine the prevalence of oral lesions in patients who visit the Oral Diagnosis Clinic of the College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani.

Patients and methods : This prospective study was performed on 3144 patients from July 2009-July 2010.

In this study a total of 3144 patients were examined.

Of these 1507 (47.93%) were males and 1637 (52.06%) females.

The patients' age ranged between 10 to 79 years.

An interview was conducted to collect information using a structured questionnaire which was completed by each patient.

The lesions that could not be diagnosed by clinical examination alone were analyzed histopathologically.

Results : Among the 3144 patients, only 799 patients (25.41%) had one or more oral lesions.

The number of oral lesions was 905.

Females constituted 49.81% (n = 398) and males 50.18% (n = 401).

Oral lesions were classified according to the following seven categories : tongue lesions (9.70%), anatomic changes (8.71%), white lesions (4.8%), ulcerated lesions (3.1%) candidiasis (1.3%), benign lesions (1.05%) and malignant lesions (0.03%).

Tongue lesions were highly significantly more common among males (12.07%) than in females (7.51%).

Denture stomatitis, Denture induced fibrous hyperplasia, and Torus palatinus were significantly more common among females than in males (P < 0.05), while hairy tongue, Ankyloglossia, Fordyce granule were highly significantly more common among males than in females.

Linea alba was highly significantly more common among females (5.86%) than in males (3.64%).

Conclusion : Routine examinations of oral cavities are valuable in identifying several oral lesions and this will help to establish early diagnosis and treatment and better prognosis particularly early precancerous and other oral lesions.