Objectives:

This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of diseases of the oral cavity and adjacent structures in pediatric patients at two reference centers.

Methods:

A retrospective, transversal, observational, descriptive study was conducted. Files from two referral centers were searched for pediatric oral lesions. The following data were collected: sex, age, location of the lesion, evolution time, diagnostic hypothesis, definitive diagnosis, and recurrence. Descriptive analysis was performed using means and proportions. The association of study variables with diagnostic categories and age groups was investigated, with p values <0.05 considered significant.

Results:

The sex distribution was similar. Patients were aged 3 months to 18.9 years (mean 11.8 years old), and the most affected age group was 13 to 18 years. Only 12 lesions recurred. The most prevalent lesions from the three most common categories were mucocele, dentigerous cyst, and odontoma.

Conclusions:

If dentists can diagnose and treat the most common lesions found in children and adolescents, they can probably manage correctly more than half of the cases involving pediatric patients.

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