The American Dental Association (ADA) reaffirmed that intraoral and extraoral clinical examination remains essential for the early detection of oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders.
The guideline also states that scalpel or punch biopsy, followed by histopathological evaluation, remains the gold standard for diagnosing suspicious lesions.
The document warns that oral cytology tests may produce false-positive or false-negative results and therefore should not replace biopsy as a diagnostic method.
Cytology may only be considered when a biopsy cannot be performed or as an adjunct to help determine the need for histological evaluation.
Source
American Dental Association
https://adanews.ada.org/ada-news/2026/march/ada-reaffirms-importance-of-clinical-exams-in-early-oral-cancer-detection/
Clinical document
Download the ADA guide for the evaluation of potentially malignant lesions
https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/10870a_chairside_guide_oralcancer_final.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com