Background: Several lesions can affect the oral and maxillofacial region, with trends influenced by lifestyle and age.
Aim: To investigate the occurrence of oral and maxillofacial lesions in paediatric patients assisted in an oral medicine diagnostic service in Brazil over 20 years.
Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed in an oral medicine diagnostic service (1999-2019). Data included sex, age, anatomic site, and diagnosis from clinical records of children (0-9 years) and adolescents (10-19 years). Lesions were diagnosed through clinical examination. Biopsy and histopathologic examination were performed when necessary.
Results: Among 10 530 records, 702 (6.67%) were from patients aged 0-19 years diagnosed with oral or maxillofacial lesions. A high frequency of females was observed (58.1%). Reactive/inflammatory lesions were the most common group of lesions (45.2%), followed by abnormalities of teeth/developmental defects (17.8%) and pulpal and periapical diseases (8.5%). Mucocele/ranula was the most common lesion in children (29.3%) and adolescents (25.3%). Lips were the most affected anatomic sites.
Conclusion: Most lesions were benign, and mucocele/ranula was the most frequent. Our results did not differ from those of histopathological-based studies, but they provided information on the occurrence of oral and maxillofacial lesions to dentists and paediatricians.
Keywords: diagnosis; oral cavity; oral medicine; oral pathology; paediatrics.
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