Ten-year retrospective profile of a military oral and maxillofacial pathology service

To profile a military oral and maxillofacial pathology service by assessing diagnostic categories, submission patterns, and the distribution of benign, premalignant, and malignant lesions over a 10-year period.

This retrospective study analyzed 19,310 specimens submitted to the Naval Postgraduate Dental School oral and maxillofacial pathology service from 2015-2024. Variables included demographics, biopsy site, diagnosis, provider type, and diagnostic classification.

Annual submissions averaged 2174 cases from 2015-2019, declined 32% to 1421 in 2020, and recovered to a mean of 1755 cases annually from 2021-2024. Most cases were benign (96.1%), with malignant and premalignant lesions comprising 2.7% and 1.2%, respectively. Malignant diagnoses increased from approximately 2% early in the study period to more than 4% in later years. The most common diagnoses were fibroma (n = 2008; 10.4%), mucocele (n = 1560; 8.1%), and periapical granuloma (n = 1518; 7.9%). Squamous cell carcinoma was the leading malignancy (n = 360; 67.8% of malignant cases).

This 10-year review defines diagnostic patterns within military oral health care, highlighting the predominance of common benign entities and the need for vigilance toward malignancies. Submission trends demonstrate continuity in detecting high-risk cases despite system-wide health care disruptions.