Oral lesion decision support

Oral Lesion Action Checker

Review the lesion’s duration, possible local cause and concerning characteristics to generate a clear action-status summary.

This tool supports action planning—it does not diagnose cancer.

It is intended for use after a dentist has identified an oral or lip abnormality through conventional visual and tactile examination. Nothing entered on this page is stored.

Review the lesion

Complete the two required questions and select any concerning characteristics that are present.

Assessment date

Lesion site

How long has the lesion been present?

Choose the best available duration based on the history.

Less than 2 weeks 2 weeks or longer Duration unknown

Is there a plausible traumatic or inflammatory cause?

Consider recent trauma, a sharp tooth, appliance irritation, accidental biting or another clinically plausible local cause.

Yes No Unsure

Concerning characteristics

Select every characteristic documented during the examination. Leave all options unselected when none are present.

Persistent or otherwise clinically suspicious ulceration Induration or fixation Spontaneous or unexplained bleeding Unexplained red, white or mixed mucosal change Progressive growth, thickening or enlargement Unexplained numbness or altered sensation Concerning cervical lymph-node finding

0 concerning characteristics selected

Brief clinical note

Select the lesion duration, possible cause and assessment date before generating the action status.

Clinical review required

No action status has been generated.

Duration —

Plausible local cause —

Concerning features 0

Action status

Concerning characteristics recorded

Documentation-ready result

Clinical reference basis: Suspicious oral lesions should be biopsied promptly or referred to an appropriate specialist. Lesion persistence beyond two weeks is also an important reason for further professional evaluation. ADA oral cancer guideline , NIDCR oral cancer information .

Clinical safety note: This checker does not diagnose oral cancer or an oral potentially malignant disorder. It cannot determine histopathology and must not delay biopsy or referral when the complete clinical examination is concerning. A short-interval review pathway should only be used when the dentist has identified a plausible benign cause and no concerning characteristic is present.