ABSTRACT
The soft tissue examination is taken here to include both extraoral head and neck, and intraoral soft tissues, excluding the periodontium, which has its own protocol. Although the detection of head/neck and oral cancer is often the focus of this examination, it involves far more than that. In addition to many normal or benign conditions the soft tissue examination may help in detection of dental and oral pathology including infection, trauma, and premalignant lesions. It may reveal manifestations of systemic diseases as well as developmental defects or disorders.
