Background:

early detection of leukoplakia, the most common premalignant lesion of the oral cavity, and whose presence is a marker of increased risk of oral cancer, is included among the new perspectives in the early diagnosis of this cancer.

Objective:

to characterize the oral leukoplakia.

Methods:

a cross-sectional analytical study was carried out, the universe was composed of 114 patients clinically diagnosed with oral leukoplakia and the sample was composed of equal numbers of patients. The data obtained from biopsy ballots was collected in a form about the investigation.

Results:

patients were predominantly between 50 and 59 years. Smoking was found in 58 patients while alcohol only in 10. In patients younger than 50 years, the development of dysplasia was influenced by the consumption of tobacco; it was found association between the size equal to or greater than three centimeters and the appearance of clinical symptoms when treated with single lesions.

Conclusions:

most of the studied patients had smoking habits and they were clinically asymptomatic. The size was associated with the onset of clinical manifestations in patients with single lesions and not in those with multiple injuries. In a group of patients, the presence of microscopic alterations with prevalence of mild dysplasia was detected.

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