[Oral mucosal lesions in patients of Mérida,Venezuela].

There are very few epidemiological studies of oral mucosal lesions in Venezuela. None of these studies has been conducted in the state of Merida. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in a population from Merida, Venezuela, describe their oral lesions’ characteristics and analyze the influence of parameters such as oral hygiene habits, harmful habits or parafunctional habits. Of the 8640 patients seen in public and private dental centers from Merida during one year, 120 (1.39%) had oral mucosal lesions. The oral mucosal lesions most frequently found were: traumatic ulcers (17.5%), recurrent herpes labialis (11.7%), denture stomatitis (10%), erythematous candidiasis (10%) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (9.2%). The main features of these oral mucosal lesions were: more frequent in females and, main location on the gingiva. Moreover, most of them were acute lesions (< 7 days), non-recurring and painful lesions. Neither harmful habits nor parafunctional habits had influence on the clinical features of the lesion.