Lesões leucoplásicas nos utentes da Clínica Dentária Universitária

: um estudo retrospetivo de 17 anos

Abstract

Introduction: Oral leukoplakia is a white plaque that cannot be characterized clinically or pathologically as any other known disease. It is the most common potentially malignant lesion in the oral cavity. Its prevalence varies between scientific studies and is affected by factors such as smoking and alcohol. Oral leukoplakia has no known etiology. The most commonly affected sites are: buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth and ventral and lateral surface of the tongue. Two clinical subtypes are distinguished, homogeneous and non-homogeneous.
Objectives: Verify the prevalence of oral leukoplakia in University Dental Clinic users through a 17-year retrospective analysis; evaluate the clinical and histological characteristics of leukoplakia; determine underlying risk factors; and evaluate the behavior or eventual malignant transformation of each lesion.
Materials and methods: This 17-year retrospective study was carried out at the University Dental Clinic of Portuguese Catholic University, in Viseu. A descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the clinical and pathological data of 11 patients who presented a definitive diagnosis of oral leukoplakia was performed. The following variables were analyzed: gender; age; presence of risk factors (tobacco, alcohol); localization; leukoplakia subtypes; histological pattern and temporal evolution of the lesion. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 27.0. A significance level of 5% was used. Results: The prevalence of oral leukoplakia among users of the University Dental Clinic was 12.09%. The buccal mucosa was the most affected area (36.36%), followed by the tongue (27.27%). The homogeneous clinical subtype was the most frequent (81.82%). Smoking habits were detected in 27.27% of patients while alcoholic habits were present in 18.18% of patients. Most patients (81.82%) did not present epithelial dysplasia in the anatomopathological examination. 81.82% of the patients had no clinical follow-up for 12 months, 9.09% had regression of oral leukoplakia and 9.09% had an increase in the size of the lesion. Conclusion: The prevalence of oral leukoplakia among University Dental Clinic users was considerably high. The results of our study were not statistically significant, but it was possible to verify a predominance of the homogeneous clinical subtype and the absence of oral dysplasia in most patients. Risk factors, including smoking and alcoholism, seem to be related to the presence of this lesion. Most of the patients did not attend the follow-up appointments.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2022
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Patrícia Couto (Supervisor) & Tiago Marques (Co-Supervisor)