title: Referral pattern of patients with oral mucosal lesions in The Netherlands.
abstract: The referral pattern of 140 Dutch patients with oral mucosal lesions, who had been referred to a Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology, shows that patients with oral mucosal lesions consult the dentist as often as the family doctor as the first source of help or information. Furthermore, family doctors were much more used to refer patients with oral mucosal disease to medical specialists rather than to the dentist or the oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Pathology, Free University Hospital/Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Schulten
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: van der Waal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003815:Dentists; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013038:Specialization; D013515:Surgery, Oral