Standard examination and adjunctive techniques for detection of oral premalignant and malignant lesions.

Abstract

This article outlines how to perform a standard comprehensive extraoral and intraoral examination and the existing commercially available adjunctive techniques for the early detection of oral cancer and premalignant lesions. Visualization-based techniques (e.g., autofluorescence and chemiluminescence), toluidine blue vital staining, cytopathologic tests and high-risk human papillomavirus testing are discussed in detail, including the indications and protocols for use, their advantages and disadvantages and clinical cases.