Tami Yap is a dentist based in Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3010. She works with people who have problems affecting the mouth and the soft tissues inside the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue. Mouth symptoms can be uncomfortable, annoying, and sometimes scary, so the aim is usually to sort out what is going on and plan next steps that make sense.
As a dentist, Tami looks after a range of conditions that can show up in the mouth. This includes long-lasting irritation or sore areas, like leukoplakia and lichen planus. She also treats things such as oral thrush and canker sores, including aphthous stomatitis, which can come and go and make eating harder.
Some patients come in with burning or painful mouth sensations, including burning mouth syndrome. Others may have blister-like or sore spots linked with oral herpes. There are also conditions that affect the tissue underneath, such as oral submucous fibrosis, where the mouth can feel tight and opening may become harder over time.
Tami also helps with diagnosis when the cause is not obvious. In many cases, that means careful checking of the mouth and, if needed, tissue biopsy. Biopsy is used when a spot needs closer look, especially if symptoms have lasted a while or are changing. She may also manage conditions that can affect the skin around the face and mouth, such as cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) and erythema multiforme.
For head and neck conditions, Tami treats cases where mouth sores or lesions may relate to squamous cell cancer. This can include oral squamous cell carcinoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), plus tongue cancer. She also looks at conditions like pyogenic granuloma and oral mucous cyst, which can be tender and may bleed or swell.
Patients sometimes worry because some mouth conditions can look similar at first. Over time, though, the pattern, symptoms, and where the problem sits in the mouth can help guide what it might be. Tami focuses on clear explanations and practical care, so people know what is being checked and why.