Oral mucosal lesions in children from 0 to 12 years old: ten years' experience.

OBJECTIVE: The exact prevalence of oral lesions in childhood is not well known. We sought to define the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in a large group of children. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using clinical charts from January 1997 to December 2007. Data collected included age, gender, and pathologic diagnosis. RESULTS: In total, 10,128 children (0-12 years old) were enrolled. Clinical diagnostic criteria proposed by the World Health Organization were followed. The frequency of children presenting oral mucosal lesions was 28.9%, and no differences related to gender were observed. The most frequent lesions recorded were oral candidiasis (28.4%), geographic tongue and other tongue lesions (18.5%), traumatic lesions (17.8%), recurrent aphthous ulcerations (14.8%), herpes simplex virus type 1 infections (9.3%), and erythema multiforme (0.9%). Children suffering from chronic diseases had a higher frequency of oral lesions compared with healthy children (chi-square: P < .01). CONCLUSION: Mucosal alterations in children are relatively common, and several oral disorders are associated with underlying medical conditions.