Oral medicine in Europe: past, present and future

Oral medicine (OM) is a relatively young dental specialty usually dealing with the oral healthcare of patients suffering from chronic recurrent and medically-related disorders of the mouth and maxillofacial region and with their diagnosis and mostly non-surgical management. The beginning of OM goes back to 1925 in the USA and 1950s in Europe. However, official specialty recognition is more recent and within Europe, it is only in the UK, Croatia and Israel where OM is recognised by local registering authorities, although in several other European countries it is viewed as a distinct field of study. Despite a broad agreement in OM syllabi and clinical practice, there are still some important differences in its definition and scopes within Europe. It is crucial that European countries agree a consensus definition of OM and clarify competencies and limits, so they may move from institution and region-specific approaches to an international framework. According to the European Directives, it is timely to recognise a minimum three year standard curriculum at a post-graduate level which will lead to uniformity of training for OM residencies in European country members and will eventually provide guidelines for a broader OM specialty recognition.