Following a diagnostic plan for oral tumors

Once an oral tumor is identified, what are the next steps? And what should a diagnostic plan look like?

Naomi Hoyer, DVM, DAVDC, an associate professor of dentistry and oral surgery at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, addressed oral tumor cases in a continuing education lecture, as part of a series of dentistry sessions, at the 2026 Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Florida, hosted by the North American Veterinary Community.

In an interview with dvm360 at VMX, Hoyer discussed what comes after an oral tumor is identified. In this video, she recommends a sequence of diagnostics.

The following is a transcript of the video, lightly edited for clarity:

dvm360: What diagnostic steps should be taken next when an oral tumor is identified?

Naomi Hoyer, DVM, DAVDC: The first thing I always ask myself when I see an oral tumor in the oral cavity [is]: Is it more likely benign, or is it more likely malignant? You can get a lot of information just by the way a tumor looks. Is it really red and inflamed? Is it moving teeth around? Does it look like it's destroying bone? Is it the same color as the oral tissue? Once you've determined that, [the] next step is getting a biopsy.

Biopsies—whole tissue sample biopsies, not aspirants—are really better in the oral cavity because they're more likely to get us a diagnosis. Once we know what the oral tumor is, then we can really make some custom recommendations for [the] owner. Do we want to consider surgery? Are there alternative options? Should we be having a quality-of-life discussion? But a biopsy is usually where we're going to start.

View more insights from Naomi Hoyer, DVM, DAVDC:

• Reading the clinical signs of stomatitis
• Providing stomatitis care for companion animals
• Examining dental radiographs
• Using a full set of dental radiology images

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