Oral Medicine

Oral medicine is the specialty of dentistry concerned with the oral health care of patients with chronic, recurrent and medically related disorders of the oral and maxillofacial region, and with their diagnosis and non-surgical management.

Oral medicine acts a focus for specialist interdisciplinary care of patients with symptoms arising from the mouth that do not relate directly to teeth. These symptoms are often chronic and may have a significant psychological, as well as physical impact on the patient’s quality of life. In some instances, symptoms and signs reflect local problems restricted to the mouth. However, symptoms and signs can represent oral manifestations of more widespread disease.

Conditions seen

Conditions seen by the department include:

• severe lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, hypersensitivity reactions and lichenoid reactions
• erythema multiforme
  
• blistering conditions – pemphigoid and pemphigus
  
• xerostomia including Sjögren’s Syndrome
  
• oral ulceration, idiopathic or related to systemic disease
  
• diseases that involve the mouth and other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, such as Crohn's, coeliac disease and nutritional deficiency states
  
• orofacial granulomatosis
  
• infectious diseases, viral and fungal infections
  
• oral manifestations of HIV
  
• white and red patches in the mouth where there is either oral dysplasia or cancer
  
• non-dental facial pain
  
• burning mouth syndrome
  
• trigeminal neuralgia, idiopathic facial pain
  
• adverse side effects of drugs and other materials on the mouth.

Oral medicine clinics

• Monday morning: new patients.
• Monday afternoon: review patients.

Link

• British Society of Oral Medicine