I have read some of the posts here before joining up and this is my first post. I went to the dentist at the Dental School clinic on Thursday, January 22nd. I'm retired, on fixed income, and needed help getting my fixed bridge repaired. During the screening exam by a 3rd year dental student, supervised by her professor, a lesion was found under my tongue (on the ventral lateral surface of the tongue) which I had known nothing about. It was termed leukoplakia and I was referred to the Residents' Clinic of the teaching dental school here in Denver because students don't handle the "complex cases". Now I must wait for "my" Resident to call me. Apparently the cases are reviewed and portioned out, then the resident calls the patient in for formulating a plan of care. I'm 70 years old and my 49 year old daughter went with me to the appointment, thank goodness, because the shock of the discovery temporarily erased every other thought from my mind. Dear daughter took notes on her I-pad and stayed with me to discuss things after bringing me home. As soon as possible that evening, I naturally consulted Dr. Google and believe that my lesion should more appropriately be termed erythroleukoplakia, because it is mainly red with white patches or spots. In further explorations on the web since then, I found this site and am very glad I did. It's hard not to let the imagination run away and start speculating, but I am doing my best and will take it one step at a time till diagnosis of this lesion. Glad to find such level-headed folks posting on here and sharing the wisdom of experience. I will post as I am given information and a treatment plan.
Mia