Oral and Maxillofacial Biopsy Reports of Children in South Kerala Population: A 20-year Retrospective Study

Aim: To determine the frequency of distribution of various oral lesions biopsied in children 12 years and below in a tertiary health-care center in south Kerala. Materials and Methods: The archives of department of oral pathology and microbiology were retrospectively analyzed. Biopsy records of all oral lesions from pediatric patients, aged 0-12 years, in the files of the Department of oral Pathology and Microbiology, Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram, from 1995 to 2015. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using the computer software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) IBM SPSS Software version 16. Results: Fifteen thousand five hundred and forty-one biopsy specimens were received, of which 540 (3.47%) were from the pediatric population. Prevalence was observed between females (52.4%) and males (47.6%). Mandible was the most commonly affected site for intraosseous lesions, followed by lower lip or soft tissue lesions. The most common conditions diagnosed individually were mucocele (17.4%), dentigerous cyst (12%), and radicular cyst (11.5%). Regarding the diagnostic categories, the largest number of cases was from inflammatory followed by cystic and odontogenic tumor category. Conclusions: This study showed similar as well as contradictory results compared to other studies, probably due to geographical and ethnic variations which are yet to be corroborated.