title: A retrospective analysis of oral and maxillofacial pathology in an Australian paediatric population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of oral and maxillofacial pathology has not previously been reported in the Australian paediatric population. This study aimed to audit a large pathology service to provide insight into the prevalence of oral and maxillofacial pathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Written records of a major Australian oral pathology service were imported into an electronic database. Age, gender and histological diagnosis were assessed. Prevalence of histological diagnoses as a percentage of the major diagnostic categories and of the whole sample were calculated, as well as gender predilections and mean age of presentation of disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1305 oral pathology specimens, collected from paediatric patients aged 16 and under were included in the analysis. The most common pathology was dental pathology (24.4%), followed by odontogenic cysts (18.5%) and mucosal pathology (17.0%). The most frequently encountered lesion was the dentigerous cyst (9.4%), followed by fibrous hyperplasia (8.3%), radicular cyst (5.2%) and chronic periapical granuloma (5.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the paediatric population, dental pathology and specifically, the dentigerous cyst is the most common pathology type sent for histopathology, suggesting a high prevalence of pathology of dental origin occurring in Australian children.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland.
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelloway
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dost
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Farah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003803:Dentigerous Cyst / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005885:Gingival Hyperplasia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa; D009807:Odontogenic Cysts / Q000453:epidemiology; D010484:Periapical Granuloma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011793:Queensland; D011842:Radicular Cyst / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Australia; audit; oral and maxillofacial pathology; paediatric; prevalence