The role and application of exfoliative cytology in the diagnosis of oral mucosa pathology - contemporary knowledge with review of the literature.

On the basis of the current available literature, the authors have presented a short description of cytological examination and its application in the oral mucosa disease diagnostic process. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of this method are described. The available diagnostic tools used for oral smears were reviewed as well as more and more often available methods which aim at making the diagnosis process more accurate and more favorable for patients. Oral cytology analysis may, in the near future, be a very useful examination for patients in terms of diagnostics and monitoring, not only during the treatment but also afterwards. The authors would like to demonstrate what a beneficial tool this cytological examination could be as a fast and cheap cancer prophylactic test. This opinion is based on the fact that this cytological method has significantly improved the detection of uterine cervical cancer during a gynecological examination since the introduction of the Papanicolau technique in the 40s.