A survey was taken of a selected group of 4,793 oral lesions submitted to the oral pathology biopsy service between 1950 and 1970. About two thirds of all the specimens examined microscopically were classified as inflammatory, infectious, or reactive hyperplasia. Of the 12.6% of the sample classified as neoplasms, one of every five was malignant. Three of every four of the malignant neoplasms were microscopically diagnosed as squamous cell carcinomas. Benign neoplasms were most common in ages 40 to 60, whereas premalignancies and malignancies were most commonly discovered in the slightly older age group of 50 to 70. Although malignant neoplasms were found more often in men than women, there was a striking increase in the incidence of malignancies in women in the second ten-year period of the study. There were unexplainably few malignant neoplasms found in blacks. Patients should be taught to recognize the early signs of oral premalignancy and malignancy through the use of a simple method of self-examination at home. They should be discouraged from the frequent use of tobacco and alcohol, which have long been known to be predisposing factors in the production of oral squamous cell carcinomas.