BACKGROUND: Biopsies are often essential for definitive diagnosis of oro-facial lesions and are a part of oral diagnostic procedures carried out in histopathology laboratories. At present, there is paucity of literature on the audit of oral histopathology services in Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of biopsied oral lesions in a Nigerian tertiary institution. Also to profile the usage of oral pathology service and to identify challenges that may be present in an oral histodiagnostic service. 

METHODS: This was a retrospective study performed at the Oral Pathology Department of the University of Ibadan/University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Reports of all biopsies submitted at the Oral Pathology laboratory, for the period 1990-2014, were reviewed and data extracted. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS software, version 20.

RESULTS: The total number of reports was 1,998; invalid reports constituting 220(11%) were subsequently excluded leaving 1,778(89%) valid reports. The mean age of patients was 36.70± 19.79, while the peak age of presentation was in the 3^rd decade. Male to female ratio was 1:1.1, and the mandible was the most common site of lesions 619(34.8%). These services were mainly utilized by oral surgeons (83.9%) and ameloblastoma (11.5%) was the most frequently diagnosed lesion. CD45 (16.7%) was the most frequently requested immuno-diagnostic test.

CONCLUSION: Biopsied oral lesions were more prevalent in females, while oral and maxillofacial surgeons utilized these services the most. Inadequate biopsy specimens or unrepresentative specimens and deficient documentation were challenges identified in this study.

KEYWORDS: Oral, Biopsy, Histopathology Service, Nigerian