What is Oral Pathology?
Any number of abnormalities, such as bumps, lumps, or lesions may develop in the soft tissues oral cavity or in the jaw bones and joints. In some cases, those unusual clusters of cells are harmless, but for other patients, they may be a signal of a serious disease, such as an infection or oral cancer. When a patient or a dentist spots a sign of potential trouble, the patient’s next visit may be with an oral surgeon, who can remove a tissue sample that is then sent to a lab for biopsy. That trip to the oral surgeon is the patient’s initial entry into the dental specialty of oral pathology. Specifically, oral pathology is the discipline that focuses on the diagnosis of oral diseases through various forms of examination. When an oral pathologist identifies the underlying mechanism of the disease, those findings can then point to the most effective treatment…