Fluorescence Spectroscopy: A Link between Pathology and Medicine

Oral medicine is an area of dentistry which is constantly changing. Over the past several years oral medicine has expanded in scope and complexity. Oral Medicine involves the diagnosis and management of complex diagnostic and medical disorders affecting the mouth and jaws. Oral cancer is one of the most mutilating diseases afflicting mankind. Precancerous lesions, conditions, and early stage oral cancers cannot be adequately identified by visual inspection alone and may be easily overlooked and neglected. Early diagnosis is one of the most important single factors in combating oral cancer. Fast and non-invasive diagnostic technique based on Fluorescence spectroscopy have the potential to link the biochemical and morphologic properties of tissues. If Fluorescence spectroscopy can be applied as diagnostic technique, it may increase the potential for curative treatment.