Perceptions of tongue lesions by dental hygiene students and otolaryngologists.

Background: Consistent perceptions of oral lesions by all professionals who examine the mouth would improve the poor survival rates from oral cancer through earlier diagnosis.

Methods: Two techniques from perceptual psychology measured how 14 otolaryngologists and 85 dental hygiene students judged differences among seven tongue lesions. Multidimensional scaling produced a perceptual "map" showing the underlying dimensions in these judgments.

The oral implications of Hodgkin's disease.

Hodgkin's disease is a cancer involving the lymphatics. While the yearly total of new cases is only approximately 7,500, the disease is very curable with modern radiotherapy and/or combination chemotherapy. This represents an increasing number of survivors who require dental treatment.