Oral medicine
An oral medicine doctor is trained to diagnose and manage patients with disorders of the orofacial region.
[2]: 1 American physician and dentist, Thomas E Bond authored the first book on oral and maxillofacial pathology in 1848, entitled "A Practical Treatise on Dental Medicine".
[citation needed] Oral medicine is concerned with clinical diagnosis and non-surgical management of non-dental pathologies affecting the orofacial region (the mouth and the lower face).
Example conditions that oral medicine is concerned with are lichen planus, Behçet's disease and pemphigus vulgaris.
Below are some examples of swellings/lumps which usually are present as specific locations in the oral cavity:[8] If there is any suspect or unknown reason as to why a lump has arisen in an individual's mouth it is important to establish when this first was noticed and the accompanied symptoms if any.
[9] There are many factors taken into consideration in this diagnosis, such as: Once the surrounding tissues and the immediate management of any lumps/swellings are taken care of, an image of the full extent of the lesion is needed.
There are a variety of imaging technique options which are chosen based on the lesion: size, location, growth pattern etc.
Commonly, Teeth are associated in a lesion which brings about the question – “are they still vital?” In order to clarify, any tooth that is associated with a lump or swelling is vitality tested, examined for any pathology or restorative deficiencies in order to determine the long term prognosis of this tooth and how this might affect treatment of the lump/swelling at hand.
Graduates are then eligible to sit for the Fellowship exams with the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (FRCD(C)).
"[12] Unlike many other countries, oral medicine physicians in the UK do not usually partake in the dental management of their patients.
[citation needed] Some UK oral medicine specialists have dual qualification with both medical and dental degrees.
[13] However, in 2010 the GDC approved a new curriculum for oral medicine, and a medical degree is no longer a prerequisite for entry into specialist training.
[16] As of 2012, there were 16 oral medicine units across the UK, mostly based in dental teaching hospitals,[14] and around 40 practising consultants.
