Additional examinations for oral cavity pathologies: when are they required? - ROS - 2017 - Tome 46 - N°1

The oral cavity is the area of numerous benign or malignant lesions which can affect the epithelium or the connective tissue.
The diagnosis of these lesions is not always easy. Very often, diagnostic hypotheses can only be evoked after the anamnesis and a full clinical examination.
In these situations, the diagnosis can only be confirmed with the results of additional examinations.
They are never systematic but suggested by a careful examination of the patient as well as the diagnostic hypotheses. Let us keep in mind that the diagnostic approach consists in a clinical examination aiming at identifying one or several primary lesions which may be connected to the patient's general condition.

Additional examinations must allow to confirm or exclude a diagnosis, but also to make a differential diagnosis among several hypotheses.

They may involve local samples in case of suspected infection, cytological examination or biopsy with histology and possibly direct immunofluorescence or
blood biological samples. Radiography may also be helpful in the diagnosis phase but it is more frequently used in extended check-ups.

Agenda