Oral soft-tissue biopsy: an overview.

Proper management of an oral mucosal lesion begins with diagnosis, and the gold standard for diagnosing disease, oral or otherwise, is tissue biopsy. The oral environment, which is moist and confined, poses challenges for collecting a viable tissue sample that will be suitable for diagnosis. These challenges are further compounded by the myriad of biopsy techniques and devices now available. In addition, certain oral subsites are subject to diagnostic pitfalls that necessitate modifications of technique. This article provides an overview of the oral soft-tissue biopsy and highlights some potential pitfalls.

Contact allergy to cinnamon: case report.

Allergic contact stomatitis is a rare disorder that is unfamiliar to most clinicians. The vast majority of cases are associated with consumption of products containing cinnamaldehyde or cinnamon essential oil, which are used as flavourings because of their pleasant taste and sensation of freshness. We report here the case of a patient who was diagnosed with alllergic contact stomatitis due to cinnamon-flavoured chewing gum. The clinical features of allergic contact stomatitis, which may occur indiscriminately on any of the oral mucosa, include edema and erythroplakic, ulcerous or hyperkeratotic changes, generally accompanied by a burning sensation. The histopathologic aspect of allergic contact stomatitis is nonspecific but tends to support the clinical diagnosis. Treatment generally consists of eliminating the causal agent. To avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures and treatments, it is important for clinicians to recognize this disorder to be able to diagnose it quickly and accurately.