Oral and maxillofacial biopsies in the Brazilian Unified Health System (2015– 2024)

an ecological survey

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the incidence and temporal trend of oral and maxillofacial biopsies performed within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)
between 2015 and 2024. Method: an ecological time-series study was conducted using public data from the Outpatient Information System. Personyear
incidence rates (per 100,000 inhabitants) were estimated for three anatomical sites registered in the SUS: salivary glands, oral soft tissues, and
craniofacial bones. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Prais-Winsten regression for trend analysis, Spearman's correlation, and negative binomial
regression for comparisons between sites. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: a total of 236,801 biopsies were performed during the study
period, of which 85.9% involved oral soft tissues, 8.0% craniofacial bones, and 6.1% salivary glands. The annual incidence was 6.81/100,000 for salivary
glands, 9.01/100,000 for craniofacial bones, and 96.4/100,000 for oral soft tissues. A significant upward trend was observed only in salivary gland biopsies (p-value = 0.019), while the other sites showed stationary trends. Compared to oral soft tissues, the incidence was 93.0% lower for salivary glands and 90.7% lower for craniofacial bones (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: between 2015 and 2024, a substantial number of oral and maxillofacial biopsies were performed in Brazil’s public services, with site-specific temporal dynamics observed across the period.