Hi everyone,

My dentist recently found papules on the floor of my mouth and referred me to a periodontist for a biopsy. Is a periodontist generally qualified to make the determination of benign/malignant or do I need to see a different kind of doctor for that?

Thank you,
Song.

Welcome to OCF, Song.

This info is from a quick google search

from wikipedia ----- PERIODONTIST...
According to the American Academy of Periodontology, U.S.-trained periodontists are specialists in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases and oral inflammation, and in the placement and maintenance of dental implants.

I wanted to be certain what I was writing was correct (it was). Basically a periodontist has years of extra training and specializes in more complex cases and mainly patients gums. Many professionals cross over each other so I would not be surprised if the periodontist did biopsies. Dentists usually focus mainly on the teeth without seeing much else.

Sores, spots, etc are commonly found in most peoples mouths from time to time. Most often they are nothing serious. But if a patient has a sore/s for more than 2-3 weeks and it does not heal on its own then it needs to be checked by a professional. By professional I mean an ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) who treats oral cancer patients (not the type of ENT who mainly puts tubes in kids ears). If you prefer to go to an ENT, call your insurance company to see whats available in your area and if they treat oral cancer patients. Just remember what they do (ears, nose and throat), not your gums so you may not need to see an ENT at all. BTW, papules arent usually cancerous.

Hopefully what you have is nothing serious. Best wishes!