VIRTUAL MICROSCOPY IN ORAL PATHOLOGY AT DENTAL SCHOOL
Teaching in oral pathology at the dental schools aims to give students insight into the histopathology of the most common diseases and conditions that they will meet later in their career. Such knowledge is important for their understanding of the clinical manifestation of the diseases and their development. Previously, courses in oral pathology have been arranged in special halls, equipped with microscopes, which has been resource-intensive and has given the students limited time to study the tissue sections. New technology has been developed where tissue sections are scanned and uploaded to digital platforms that can be made available to students, who may study the tissue sections as in a virtual microscope, leading to increased flexibility both for students and teachers. Students can prepare for the lectures and can later study the tissue sections on their own computer. The integration with clinical subjects is made easier, and teaching material can be shared between institutions. The scanned tissue sections have a quality compatible with a high quality light microscope.