Pathology

 

There's nothing more unsettling than when your dentist or physician says "hmm, that should be looked at".  We understand that the mouth is a vastness of the unknown to most people. Luckily, experience tells us that most "lesions" in the mouth or in the jaws are not as dreaded as patients first fear.

 

That's not to say that abnormal findings (pathology) should be dismissed since even benign lesions can continue to grow or progress to a worse prognosis than if they were addressed sooner.  Jaw cysts (fluid-filled cavities) and jaw tumours (solid-filled lesions) can grow, weaken the jaw and the tooth's supporting bone structure.  Left untreated these can lead to jaw fracture, loss of teeth and the need for more advanced surgeries.