Pediatric oral medicine

A thorough examination of the oral mucosa can provide helpful clues toward making a diagnosis in a number of developmental, neoplastic, inflammatory, and infectious conditions. A number of oral lesions seen in infants and children are benign and of no medical significance. In these instances, the ability of the physician to confidently identify the diagnosis, and reassure parents that a lesion is not worrisome, carries significant value. Likewise, the ability to recognize an underlying systemic illness or genetic disease based on an oral examination can also be of tremendous value, particularly when oral involvement is the presenting feature.