The prevalence of oral pathoses in a private dental practice: a 30 month survey

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral lesions in a private dental practice, which treats a broad spectrum of patients from both urban and rural areas. All oral lesions were documented over a 30 month period in a research programme, which formed part of the normal patient treatment plan. The lesions were analysed according to the prevalence of the lesions, race, age and gender distribution, and the ratio of lesions diagnosed by the practitioner compared with those presented for treatment by the patients. A total of 8418 patients were examined and 151 pathological lesions were diagnosed, representing 46 different conditions. The commonest conditions were fluorosis (11 per cent of lesions) and geographic tongue (11 per cent of lesions seen). Twenty conditions (47.8 per cent) were seen only once. The male:female ratio was 1.17:1. A total of 74 per cent of the lesions were seen in patients between the 2nd and the 5th decades and 25 per cent in the 4th decade. Patients seeking treatment suffered from conditions such as fluorosis causing aesthetic problems. On the other hand premalignant lesions such as leukoplakia and life threatening diseases were usually detected by the dentist, which stresses the importance of a thorough clinical examination of all patients. Fluorosis documented in 17 patients in this study, led to analysis of drinking water in the Dennilton area, which was found to contain toxic levels of fluoride.