Abstract
BACKGROUND: Most epidemiological studies involving oral and maxillofacial lesions assess only data from histopathological analysis. This may lead to a poor notification of diseases whose diagnosis is predominantly clinical. Aim: To evaluate and to compare the frequency of oral and maxillofacial lesions in children and adolescents in two different types of services: Oral Medicine clinic service and laboratory service. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The records of patients ≤ 19 years attending the Oral Medicine clinic service and records from the laboratory service in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology of the Dental School of a university were analyzed. RESULTS: 828 records from the Oral Medicine clinic service and 2,409 records from the laboratory service were analyzed. The most common lesion group in both services was inflammatory/reactive lesions; however, infectious lesions and variations of normality were more frequently in the clinical service. Mucocele was the most common lesion in both services. The lips (28.9%) were the most affected region in the clinical service, while in the laboratory service, the bones (34.7%) were the most affected region. CONCLUSIONS: Some differences may occur with respect to the frequency of oral and maxillofacial lesions among pediatric individuals when data from different sources are compared. Key words:Epidemiology, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral medicine, oral and maxillofacial lesions, children, adolescents.