3. A letter someone can act on

The receiving clinician was not in the room

Write the question, the history, medical list and allergies, medicines, smoking and alcohol where relevant, examination, what you have already done, and what you want them to do. Attach usable radiographs. “Please see” with no film and no medical history wastes everyone’s time and can delay cancer care.

Photographs

If you take extra-oral or intra-oral photos for a lesion, consent, store, and send them on the approved NHS route — not WhatsApp. Information Governance still applies.

Copy and language

Use words the patient would recognise if they read the letter. Avoid sneering about “failed dentistry.” If another dentist started treatment, stick to findings.

After you click send

Tell the patient who will contact them, what to do if the letter does not arrive, and when to come back to you. Record the referral in the notes. If the service bounces the referral as incomplete, fix it the same day.

Foundation-specific

If you are unsure whether a case is a two-week wait, ask your educational supervisor the same day — do not sit on a white patch until the next tutorial. Delay is the harm.

Always follow current NICE suspected-cancer guidance and your local NHS referral rules.