Prevalence of Oral Mucosal Lesions at external dental clinics of the University of Tromsø and a comparison with other studies

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in the adult and child populations, examined or treated at external university dental clinics of the University of Tromsø, and then compare these prevalences with prevalences found in previous studies.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to the external University dental clinics (n=14), inviting all dental practitioners and hygienists to participate. During eight weeks the examiners reported all the oral mucosal lesions found during examination or treatment of their patients.

Results: Twelve out of 14 clinics participated in the study (86%), and a total of 8088 (3122 adults and 4966 children) patients were examined by 39 examiners. Oral mucosal lesions were found in 7.59% of adult patients and in 2.68% of patients under the age of 18. The prevalence’s of oral mucosal lesions were generally lower compared to previous studies.

Conclusion: Some of our results may indicate underregistration of oral mucosal lesions compared to previous studies. However, the previous studies have been conducted in other countries, and may not produce valid estimators of prevalences in Norway. To find the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Norway, a study on a general population that is stratified and randomly selected should be carried out.