Questionnaire-based survey regarding the opinion of general pathologists on the need for oral pathology services

Oral and maxillofacial pathology (OMFP) is a subspecialization having a masters course in India. Due to lesser number of oral pathologists in the country, the biopsy material from the head and neck is catered to by the general pathologist.

This survey was conducted to acquire responses from general pathologists and gathering knowledge on their perspective of oral pathology.

Pathologists at various medical institutions and at laboratories all over Karnataka were requested to answer a questionnaire comprising 13 questions pertaining to the need and scope of oral pathology.

In total, 37 (57%) general pathologists completed the questionnaire, of whom 97% (36) were aware of the specialty and 30 (81%) perceived a need for it. Eleven (30%) of them referred oral biopsy specimens to oral pathologists. The most common sources of diagnostic difficulty were identified as odontogenic tumors and cysts. Twenty-six (70%) pathologists felt the need for a short-term posting for their postgraduates in oral pathology, while 28 (76%) of them expressed their opinion about considering an oral pathologist as a part of their team when diagnosing complex head and neck pathologies. Twelve (71%) of them mentioned that they sometimes found that head and neck lesions took longer time to diagnose.

Although the utilization of OMFP specialists' services in the state is quite low, general pathologists strongly feel the need for OMFP training as head and neck specimens form a considerable proportion of biopsies received by them.