12 Lip Disorders
12.3 Melkersson–Rosenthal Syndrome
12.8 Lip-Licking Cheilitis and Dermatitis
12.11 Lymphedema due to Radiation
Preface
Twenty years have passed since the publication of the first edition and twelve years since the second edition of the Pocket Atlas of Oral Diseases. The enthusiastic acceptance by dentists, physicians, and dental and medical students has exceeded all expectations. For the third edition, the clinical orientation of the book remains unchanged.
The visual approach is the most powerful tool at the disposal of the oral physician. Acquisition of the skill to “see” lesions in a particular way requires extensive and intensive clinical training and is rewarded with a high degree of diagnostic accuracy. From this point of view, I felt that the format of juxtaposition of text and color images is ideal and was, therefore, chosen for the presentation of the disease entities. For practical purposes the diseases that are included in this pocket book are classified according to three main criteria: (a) the morphology of the lesions, (b) the color of the lesions, and (c) anatomical regions.
This classification leads to the goal of the oral examiners to reach the precise diagnosis, which is a prerequisite for correct and successful treatment. The diagnosis of each disease is based on three fundamental principles: (a) patient’s medical history, (b) clinical assessment of signs and symptoms, and (c) laboratory tests, if necessary. In the present edition, the text of the book has been rewritten and adapted to contemporary scientific and publishing demands. Information on more than 40 new diseases and one more chapter have been added. Over 95% of the pictorial color material has been renewed and enriched with high-standard color images. All of these changes guarantee improvement of oral health care, from disease prevention to accurate diagnosis and treatment.
For more clinical information, readers may refer to my major book Color Atlas of Oral Diseases: Diagnosis and Treatment, 4th edition; Thieme, 2017.
George Laskaris, MD, DDS, PhD
Introduction to Oral Medicine
Oral medicine (stomatology) is an important, rapidly developing dental specialty in several countries of the world that recognizes and cultivates the close interplay between oral and systemic health. The spectrum of diseases of oral medicine is wide and includes diseases of the oral mucosa and the gingiva, lip disorders, salivary gland and jaw diseases, temporomandibular joint disorders, malodor, taste changes, orofacial pain, and oral manifestations of systemic diseases (see the schematic classification on the next page). Oral diseases may be local or systemic, acute or chronic, innocent or serious, painful or not, and life-changing or life-threatening. The oral medicine specialist (stomatologist or oral physician) should collaborate with several medical specialties (dermatology, gastroenterology, otorhinolaryngology, hematology, infectiology, immunology, oncology, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry, internal medicine, pathology, imaging, and head and neck surgery) and with the dental specialties (general dentistry, oral surgery, periodontology, implantology, pediatric dentistry, oral pathology, and radiology).
The oral medicine specialist should have a dental and a basic medical background, particularly in internal medicine, dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, therapeutics, histopathology, and others. The general dentist and the medical physician should also have the basic knowledge of oral diseases in order to recognize the primary lesions in the oral cavity and to direct the patient to the oral medicine specialist. The oral cavity, as an examination field, offers important clinical advantages: (a) it is an open cavity readily accessible to inspection and palpation, (b) it is easy to perform a biopsy here, (c) it is regularly examined by the dentist for tooth and gingival problems, and (d) it is accessible to self-examination by the patient. Several diagnostic difficulties exist due to: (a) the plethora of local and systemic diseases with similar lesions and (b) local factors, such as tooth, dentures, foodstuffs, or saliva, which may alter the morphology of the elementary lesions. Clinical diagnostic methodology should follow fundamental principles that we must adhere to in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis. Laboratory tests are a tool that must follow the clinical evaluation. Laboratory results should always be evaluated by the clinician in relation to the clinical features of the disease.
The goal of the oral medicine specialist should be the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases.
Schematic Classification of Oral Diseases
A guide, in the form of a tree, for students, residents, and specialists in oral medicine that offers a basic framework for the classification of oral diseases into four major groups: systemic, local, infectious, and neoplasms.
