Frequency of oral lesions in newborns at Mashhad Imam Reza Hospital, in 2001

Neonatal period is the first developing phase after birth follow by different developmental processes up to the age of puberty. A neonate may be born with different oral lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate oral lesions in newborns at Mashhad Imam Reza Hospital. In this cross - sectional descriptive study, 600 newborns were observed during 2.5 months in 2001. Total oral cavity including soft palate, hard palate, tongue, alveolar ridge and oral cavity floor was examined with tongue blade and light. Results showed that 52.6% of newborns [316 cases] had oral lesions. 0.66% cases had natal and neonatal teeth, 0.5% cases had congenital epulis, 1.8% cases were with ankyloglossia, 41.5% cases with Epstein's pearls, 22.3% cases with Bohn nodule and 0.16% case with exostosis. There were no cases with cleft lip or cleft palate. The most frequent oral lesion observed was Epstein's pearls. Our study showed that prevalence of natal teeth in the city of Mashhad was more than other countries except for Bohn nodule and Epstein's pearls which occurred less frequently than other countries