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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in a representative population
Christian H Splieth1, Wolfgang Sümnig, Frank Bessel
1Center for Oral Health, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and intraoral distribution of oral mucosal lesions in a representative adult population (Study of Health in Pomerania/Germany).
Method And Materials:
The study sample comprised 6267 randomly selected subjects who were scheduled for examination from 1997 to 2001 (population-based cross-sectional study; response rate: 69%; age range 20 to 81 years).
Results:
The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions was age dependent (5.56% in 20- to 29-year-olds to 19.55% in 70- to 81-year-olds) with an overall prevalence of 11.83%. The prevalence in men (12.20%) was slightly higher than in women (11.40%). Exophytic neoplasia was the most prevalent alteration (3.00%), followed by leukoplakia simplex (prevalence 2.85%). Premalignant lesions were found in 0.57% of the participants, with lichen ruber mucosae contributing the major part (0.48%). Exophytic neoplasia was most often situated in the buccal mucosa, the hard palate, or the mucosa of the lower lip.
Conclusion:
These data stress the importance of screening for oral mucosal lesions, especially because of a predicted increase in the number of elderly persons in industrialized countries.
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