Oral mucosal lesions
As is evident from the long list of conditions and causes discussed in the section on diagnosis of ‘oral mucosal lesions’, this is a very broad term.
Despite this broad range of conditions affecting the oral mucosa, there are a few unifying and shared aspects to the treatment modalities of many oral mucosal lesions:
- many oral mucosal lesions carry a burden of considerable discomfort and pain; so adequate pain control is a common theme in the management of such conditions;
- many oral mucosal lesions carry an increased risk for oral infections; so prevention and/or treatment of infections is another common theme in the management of oral mucosal lesions;
- many oral mucosal lesions are a symptom of other underlying conditions and disorders; so collaborative treatment and management jointly with other medical specialties is a common management approach;
- many oral mucosal lesions have identifiable and avoidable causes; so identifying such causes and finding ways to avoid them in the future is yet another common ‘treatment’ modality.
Beyond these general patterns of management of oral mucosal lesions, we outline in more detail treatment modalities and options for specific such conditions on the following page.