[Referral of patients with non-odontogenic oral diseases to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon]

Patients with non-odontogenic oral diseases may be referred to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon by a dentist, a general medical practitioner or a medical specialist. At the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of a medical centre, a survey involving 96 referred patients with a non-odontogenic oral disease addressed the clinician who was responsible for the referral, the patient characteristics, and the nature and location of the oral disease. From the patients who regularly visited a dentist, 53% were referred by a dentist. From the patients who visited a dentist irregularly, 73% were referred by a general medical practitioner. No significant correlation was found between the nature and location of the non-odontogenic oral disease and the profession of the clinician who was responsible for the referral, with an exception for the tongue, for which a medical specialist was more often responsible for the referral.