Histopathological Spectrum of Oral and Maxillofacial Biopsies: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to characterize the histopathological spectrum of surgically biopsied oral and maxillofacial lesions and their distribution according to anatomical location, tissue involvement, sex, age, and diagnostic status in a single-center setting. Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, 295 consecutive biopsy records from March 2021 to February 2024 were screened, and 279 eligible patients were included. Demographic data, anatomical locations, and histopathological diagnoses were obtained from institutional records. Diagnostic categories were compared according to sex and age using the Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test with Monte Carlo estimation. Results: Thirty-four distinct histopathological diagnoses were identified. The most frequent were radicular cysts (27.6%), dentigerous cysts (17.9%), and periapical granulomas (12.9%). Jaw cysts represented the largest diagnostic category (54.1%), and most lesions involved bone (72.8%). The mandible was the most frequently affected site (43.4%). Overall, 257 lesions (92.1%) were classified as benign, 20 (7.2%) as oral potentially malignant disorders, and two (0.7%) as malignant. The overall distribution of diagnostic categories differed significantly according to sex (p < 0.001) and age group (p = 0.002). Subgroup patterns were interpreted descriptively because of small category sizes. Conclusions: Jaw cysts, particularly radicular and dentigerous cysts, predominated in this institutional biopsy series. The findings describe the histopathological distribution of biopsied lesions at a single center and should not be interpreted as estimates of population-level disease prevalence.