Minor Biopsies

Every dental check up should include an oral cancer screening. Studies show the most effective oral cancer screening is a visual and tactile intra-oral and extra-oral examination. This must also include palpation of the neck for lymph nodes and assessing the appearance of the tonsils. At Deakin Dental Mildura, we routinely perform a stepwise visual and tactile oral cancer screening on each patient, at every dental check up appointment.

Screening devices should only be considered an adjunct to a thorough visual and manual patient examination. Screening devices do not provide definitive answers. The gold standard for diagnosis is a biopsy, ideally evaluated by an Oral Pathologist. If a patient were to have a suspicious finding at our practice, referral to an Oral Medicine Specialist or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon would be undertaken for the patient to have further evaluation, a definitive diagnosis (biopsy tissue evaluated by an oral pathologist) and prompt management.