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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Oral lesions in elderly population: a biopsy survey using 2250 histopathological records
Luciana Corrêa1, Maria Luiza Moreira Arantes Frigerio, Suzana Cantanhede Orsini Machado Sousa
1Department of General Pathology, School of Dentistry, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. lcorrea@usp.br
Objective:
To perform an oral biopsy survey focused on the incidence of oral lesions in Brazilian elderly patients.
Methods:
A total of 17 329 oral biopsy records were analysed and divided into two age groups: elderly patients, > or =60 years old; and non-elderly patients, <60 years old. Information about sex, race, age and histopathological diagnosis (categorised in non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions) was collected. Differences of diagnosis incidence were tested by comparison between two proportions (binomial test).
Results:
The incidence of epithelial malignant neoplasms and pre-malignant lesions in the elderly group was higher than non-elderly group, as well as autoimmune diseases and salivary gland tumours. The three most prevalent lesions in the elderly group were inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia, squamous cell carcinoma, and fibroma.
Conclusion:
The distribution of oral diseases using biopsies allows greater accuracy in data about oral health of elderly patients, especially when considering malignant and pre-malignant lesions.
