​Background and Objectives: Referral time of patients affects treatment course and its success rate. Quick diagnosis of malignant and pre-malignant lesions of oral cavity is of utmost importance. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the correlation of individuals’ socioeconomic status and the patient chief complaint duration in patients with oral pathologic lesions referring to Tabriz dentistry school in the first half of 1391. 

Materials and Methods: In this study, 80 patients referring to Tabriz dentistry school were selected randomly according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, the pre-prepared form containing demographic and information about socioeconomic status was filled out for each patient. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (median) and Mann–Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation tests using SPSS 15.

Results: The median time of chief complaint duration in males and females was 90 and 14.50 days respectively and the difference was significant (P=0.001). The chief complaint duration median in urban and rural residents was 15 and 105 days  respectively and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The median time of chief complaint duration has been decreased when the patient’s educational level has been increased (P<0.001). Spearman’s correlation revealed that there was a reverse significant correlation between chief complaint duration and individuals’ income (P<0.01).

Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, patients who were in lower socioeconomic status, the time of visiting (length of complaints) was longer.