Oral mucosal lesions: a retrospective review of one institution’s 13-year experience

Background/aim: To investigate the relative frequency of biopsied nonneoplastic oral mucosal lesions in Ankara, Turkey. Materials and methods: Biopsy records of a single center from 2000–2012 were retrospectively collected. Diagnosis was recorded and evaluated with respect to patient demographics (age, sex) and location of the lesion. Results: Of 11,980 biopsies, 1732 (14.5%) were mucosal nonneoplastic lesions. Hyperplastic lesions (n = 1000, 57.7%) with fibroepithelial hyperplasia in 30.9% of patients were the most common type of oral nonneoplastic lesions. The mean age of patients differed with respect to type of mucosal lesion, tending to be lower in patients with reactive lesions. Dermatoses showed a female predominance. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that hyperplastic lesions were the most common among nonneoplastic oral mucosa lesions. Geographic and ethnic differences of patients with various types of oral mucosal lesions require further investigation.