Frequently Asked Questions - Oral Pathology Lab

If I am a patient, can I make an appointment to see a pathologist?

The lab pathologists do not see patients. If you are a patient, please contact the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Oral Medicine Faculty Practice at (310) 825-8082 or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic at (310) 825-0834.

How long does it take to process my specimen?

Most soft tissue specimens are processed, examined, and reports finalized within 48 hours of receipt. Reports are sent via fax or email (encrypted) on the same day or the next business day. Specimens requiring special stains or involving hard tissue may take longer to complete.

What happens to my specimen?

Each specimen is assigned an accession number upon arrival and the tissue is placed in a cassette before sending for histological processing, paraffin embedding and processing to mount the tissue sections on glass slides. Prepared slides are returned the next morning, after which the pathologist reviews the case and dictates the report. Once finalized, the report is signed and sent to the provider via fax or encrypted email, with a hard copy mailed for their records.

What happens if I do not provide all of the information requested on the submission form?

If any key information is missing, our staff will first contact the provider to obtain the required details. If the provider’s information is not included in the submission package, we may reach out to the patient directly. If no resolution is reached after repeated contact attempts, the specimen will be returned to the submitting provider after one week. Specimens without any contact information will be held for 60 days before being discarded. 

What types of specialized staining and molecular diagnostic services does your laboratory offer, and what are the typical processing times and requirements?

Our laboratory offers a range of specialized diagnostic services beyond the standard Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stain to ensure accurate and comprehensive diagnoses. These include histochemical stains, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, in-situ hybridization, and molecular diagnostic techniques such as Next-Generation Sequencing.

Most special stains are completed and reported within three days. However, certain procedures may require sending slides to specialized institutions or subcontractors, resulting in longer processing times. For molecular testing, such as genomic sequencing or mutation analysis, some cases may require a referral from the patient's primary physician or prior approval from their insurance provider before the testing can proceed.

Our team works diligently to communicate any additional requirements and timelines to ensure seamless and efficient service.