Patient Services

Oral Pathology

Our office evaluates and treats a wide variety of pathologies of the oral cavities and jaws. We often see patients who are referred by their general dentists for hard or soft tissue abnormalities detected during routine dental visits.

Soft tissue lesions seen most often in our office consist of routine “lumps and bumps” which can often be simply excised or removed with a laser. Persistent discolored or ulcerative lesions are sampled to rule out cancerous or pre-cancerous changes. Fortunately, oral cancer is not a common occurrence and lesions are often detected early so that treatment is often minimal and curative. No lesion can be diagnosed by simple visual inspection. Any suspicious lesion should therefore be evaluated with microscopic examination to ensure prompt and proper treatment. Most soft tissue procedures are minimally invasive and healing is rapid.

Hard tissue lesions often involve abnormalities of the teeth or jawbones. The most common lesions we see in our practice involve tooth-related cysts around the top of impacted teeth. Removal of these cysts with associated teeth is often curative. Microscopic evaluation will indicate any further treatment or likelihood of recurrence. Other lesions often seen involve tumors (usually benign) of the upper or lower jaw or disturbances of tooth development.

We will review your specific situation as well as treatment options at your initial consultation. All tissue removed is sent for histopathologic evaluation at the University of North Carolina Department of Oral Pathology. Biopsy results usually take 1-2 weeks and you will be contacted as soon as the results are obtained.