title: Oral medicine: defining an emerging specialty in the United States.
abstract: Oral medicine is a specialized area of study within the scope of dental medicine. This discipline is often viewed as the crossroads between medicine and dentistry and has become integral in both pre-and postdoctoral dental education. Oral medicine is recognized as a dental specialty throughout most of the world and currently represents an emerging specialty in the United States. Historically, oral medicine has been loosely defined in the United States without a clear consensus definition. Recent published studies regarding international oral medicine postdoctoral programs and clinical practice have helped to provide more specific information regarding oral medicine from many perspectives. This article will review the literature relevant to defining oral medicine in the United States and present a new definition of this important discipline based on recent studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 240 South 40 Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. tps@dental.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Sollecito
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prescott-Clements
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Felix
authors.forename: A Ross
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.forename: Penelope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shirlaw
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Martin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Eric T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Stoopler
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D019242:Oral Medicine / Q000193:education*; D013039:Specialties, Dental / Q000145:classification*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States