USE OF ORAL PATHOLOGY SERVICES BY GENERAL HISTOPATHOLOGISTS AND THEIRATTITUDES TO TRAINING OF ORAL PATHOLOGISTS

Aims-(1) To determine whether general histopathologists are aware of o ral pathology as a specialist discipline and whether they use oral pat hologists to identify lesions of the dental and orofacial tissues whic h pose diagnostic difficulties to general histopathologists. (2) To es tablish whether consultant histopathologists would consider dentally q ualified applicants for salaried training posts within their departmen t so that they may fulfil College accreditation requirements. Methods- A questionnaire was sent to a consultant histopathologist in each of 2 26 general histopathology departments in England and Wales. Results-In total, 167 (74%) consultant histopathologists completed the questionn aire, of whom 98% (163/167) were aware of the specialty and 92% (153/1 67) perceived a need for it. Oral biopsy specimens formed less than 5% of the workload in 76% (126/167) of departments, but 80% (134/167) of the consultants had referred at least one case to an oral pathologist during 1993. The most common sources of diagnostic difficulty were id entified as salivary gland pathology, odontogenic tumours and lesions of oral mucosa. Only 22% (36/167) of consultants were aware that train ees in oral pathology are obliged to spend a year in accredited genera l histopathology training, but 40% (67/167) said they would consider a dentally qualified applicant for a training post in their department. Conclusions-General histopathologists are aware that oral pathologists exist and most will at some time call on their services; thus there i s a need for specialists in oral pathology. Consultant histopathologis ts have a supportive attitude to the problem of providing the necessar y general experience for oral pathology trainees, which will continue to be obtained through secondment to a histopathology department outsi de the trainee's main institution in most cases. Central funding would help the problem of providing cover for trainees spending a year out to complete general pathology training.