Oral Medicine
Oral medicine is concerned with clinical diagnosis and non-surgical management of non-dental pathologies affecting the orofacial region (the mouth and the lower face).
Many systemic diseases have signs or symptoms that manifest in the orofacial region. Pathologically, the mouth may be afflicted by many cutaneous and gastrointestinal conditions. There is also the unique situation of hard tissues penetrating the epithelial continuity (Unlike teeth, hair and nails are actually intra-epithelial tissues). The biofilm that covers teeth therefore causes unique pathologic entities known as plaque-induced diseases.
Example conditions that oral medicine is concerned with are lichen planus, Behçet's disease and pemphigus vulgaris. Moreover, it involves the diagnosis and follow-up of pre-malignant lesions of the oral cavity, such as leukoplakias or erythroplakias and of chronic and acute pain conditions such as paroxysmal neuralgias, continuous neuralgias, myofascial pain, atypical facial pain, autonomic cephalalgias, headaches and migraines.
Another aspect of the field is managing the dental and oral condition of medically compromised patients such as cancer patients suffering from related oral mucositis, bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws or oral pathology related to radiation therapy.
Additionally, it is involved in the diagnosis and management of dry mouth conditions (such as Sjögren's syndrome) and non-dental chronic orofacial pain, such as burning mouth syndrome, trigeminal neuralgia and temporomandibular joint disorder.
Member Feedback on Oral Medicine
- Wow, so much information. What a useful resource.
- I found this course very interesting and practice-oriented
- Very well structured module with extremely important information
- I loved this module. It was very good revision. It was great to have all the relevant oral conditions/soft tissue lesions gathered on one module.
- Excellent concise help on an area I knew too little about
The Oral Medicine online learning module has clear and concise aims, objectives and anticipated outcomes, listed below. These will appear on the Dentaljuce Enhanced CPD Certificate, along with the time spent, dates, and detailed topics you studied within the module. Certificates can be printed at any time, covering any range of dates. Dentaljuce CPD complies with the UK GDC's requirements for enhanced verifiable continuing professional development.
Before starting this module, check that the learning outcomes are what you require, and that you have entered the need into your PDP. Here is an example PDP entry for this module.
| What development needs have I? | How will I address them? | Target completion date | Outcomes | Date Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improve my clinical diagnosis and non-surgical management of non-dental pathologies affecting the orofacial region. | Take the Dentaljuce Oral Medicine module. | • Diagnose and provide appropriate care/management for patients with BMS, Sjogrens, Behcets, Herpes, Pemphigus, Candidosis, and many other orofacial conditions. • Provide appropriate precautions and pre-operative and post-operative dental care when treating transplant patients. • Understand the relevance of Bisphosphonates to dental care, and provide appropriate precautions. |
| What development needs have I? | Improve my clinical diagnosis and non-surgical management of non-dental pathologies affecting the orofacial region. |
|---|---|
| How will I address them? | Take the Dentaljuce Oral Medicine module. |
| Target completion date | |
| Outcomes | • Diagnose and provide appropriate care/management for patients with BMS, Sjogrens, Behcets, Herpes, Pemphigus, Candidosis, and many other orofacial conditions. • Provide appropriate precautions and pre-operative and post-operative dental care when treating transplant patients. • Understand the relevance of Bisphosphonates to dental care, and provide appropriate precautions. |
| Date completed |
Module Aims and Outcomes
Click here
The aim of the learning and teaching materials in this Dentaljuce module is to allow learners to develop their professional knowledge, understanding and competence in oral medical conditions, in line with their identified personal learning requirements.
Module objectives
• To teach the clinical diagnosis and non-surgical management of non-dental pathologies affecting the orofacial region.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
The learner will:
• Diagnose and provide appropriate care/management for patients with BMS, Sjogrens, Behcets, Herpes, Pemphigus, Candidosis, and many other orofacial conditions.
• Provide appropriate precautions and pre-operative and post-operative dental care when treating transplant patients.
• Understand the relevance of Bisphosphonates to dental care, and provide appropriate precautions.
• through achieving these outcomes, provide an improved level of service to their patients.
GDC Principles
This CPD will support the learner in meeting the following GDC principles and the underlying standards:
• P6: Work with colleagues in a way that is in patients’ best interests
• P7: Maintain, develop and work within your professional knowledge and skills
GDC Development Outcomes
This CPD will support the learner in meeting the following GDC Development Outcomes:
• DO A. (Communication domain). Effective communication with patients, the dental team, and others across dentistry.
• DO B. (Management domain). Effective management of self and others or effective work with others in the dental team, in the interests of patients at all times. Constructive leadership.
• DO C. (Clinical domain) Maintenance and development of knowledge and skill within your field of practice
• DO D. (Professionalism domain) Maintenance of skills, behaviours and attitudes which maintain patient confidence in you and the dental profession and put patients' interests first.