Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in patients of the Kuwait University Dental Center

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the number, types, and locations of oral mucosal lesions in patients who attended the Admission Clinic at the Kuwait University Dental Center to determine prevalence and risk factors for oral lesions. Intraoral soft tissue examination was performed on new patients seen between January 2009 and February 2011. The lesions were divided into six major groups white, red, pigmented, ulcerative, exophytic, and miscellaneous. Five hundred thirty patients were screened, out of which 308 [58.1%] had one or more lesions. A total of 570 oral lesions and conditions were identified in this study, of which 272 [47.7%] were white, 25 [4.4%] were red, 114 [20.0%] were pigmented, 21 [3.7%] were ulcerative, 108 [18.9%] were exophytic, and 30 [5.3%] were in the miscellaneous group. Overall, Fordyce granules [n = 116; 20.4%] were the most frequently detected condition. A significantly higher [p < 0.001] percentage of older patients [21-40 years and 41 years] had oral mucosal lesions than those in the