A retrospective study of children and adolescents oral and maxillofacial lesions over a 20-year period in Kerman, Iran

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral and maxillofacial lesions vary in different geographic regions based on their clinical features. Until now, few investigations have studied these lesions in children and adolescents in Iran. The aim of this research was to study the clinicopathological manifestations of biopsied oral and maxillofacial lesions among children and adolescents in the south of Iran.METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, all the cases referred to the Department of Pathology, Kerman faculty of Dentistry, and two treatment centers of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran during 1996-2015 were included. All demographic information including age, gender, anatomic location and histopathologic diagnosis of the oral and maxillofacial biopsies in patients under 18 years was extracted from patients’ chart fields. SPSS was used for the data analysis.RESULTS: Of 3196 oral and maxillofacial lesions, 326 cases (10.2%) occurred in the age group under 18 years. The most common group was inflammatory/reactive lesions (36.8%). The most common lesions were pyogenic granuloma (9.20%), peripheral giant cell granuloma (8.89%), and dentigerous cyst (8.28%). Gingiva was the main involved area and the female to male ratio was 1.1 to 1.CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that almost 10.2% of oral and maxillofacial lesions occurred in children and adolescents. The majority of lesions were benign, and malignant lesions were rarely observed in the sample. The most prevalent biopsied lesions were inflammatory/reactive lesions. Unlike other studies, lower rates of mucocele were observed in this study. These findings can improve patient’s management among dentists and surgeons.