Prevalence of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis: An Institutional Study

Objective: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is an inflammatory condition, which is  characterized by recurrent painful, single or multiple  ulcers, appearing  in the oral mucosa. There is no particular curative treatment available for RAS. Prevalence data of RAS in general population of south India is lacking.  Hence, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the prevalence of RAS among patients reporting to a Dental Institution  in Mangaluru, India. Methods: Study involved the patients reporting to the Dental hospital with various complaints.    Detailed case history was recorded and clinical examination was done by trained professionals.  Patients having RAS were recruited in the study. For RAS patients, a questionnaire was provided which contained a details about demographic characteristics, predisposing factors, nature of the ulcers, treatment received . Data obtained from the questionnaire was analysed using software  SPSS 16.0 for windows .Results: A total of 11,618 patients reported to the dental hospital during study period. Out of these patients  221 patients were clinically diagnosed with RAS. The prevalence of RAS was 1.9%.   Study consisted of 114 females (51.6%) and 107 males (48.4%). The age of patients with RAS   was ranging from 13 to 58-years. The percentage of patients with frequency of recurrent ulcers   within one month was 24.4%, one to three months was 38.9%, three to six months was 21.3% and more than six months was 15.4%.  Duration for the   healing of ulcers was also recorded.  Less than 1week duration(46.2% of  patients), 1-2 weeks (38% of patients),  and more than two weeks (15.8% of patients) was reported. RAS was associated with  specific food intake in  21.3 % patients. Treatment for RAS was received by 54.8 % of patients.  Conclusion: This study provides important information about the prevalence and pattern of recurrent aphthous stomatitis in south India in comparison to the data available in the current literature.  This study alludes to importance of thorough history to identify the predisposing factors, thus prevention can be accomplished.  Present study helps the dentists to know the patients outlook towards RAS, this would contribute to improve patient management and thus development of newer efficient therapeutics

Lehya formulations for mother and child care in Havyak community of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India

The period between pregnancy and the child birth is a critical phase in the lives of mothers and newborn babies. In most of the Asian countries including India, the use of medicinal plants, cultural traditions and the diets practiced by the ethnic groups have their age old histories. Present study was carried out to compile the traditional knowledge of the age old practitioners on pre and postnatal remedies. The survey was carried out in the areas of Sirsi, Siddapur and Mundgod taluks of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka state, India. Medicinal plants were collected and quantitative data analyses like Use Value (UV), Relative frequency citation (Rfc) and Family Importance Value (FIV) have been provided to analyze the importance of reported plants. The study revealed the use of 28 plant species belonging to 19 families. The home remedies for pregnant women are in the form of paste, called ‘Lehya’ in local language. Habit-wise analysis of the plants indicate that herbs are highly used (35.71%) and in most of the case fruits (32.14%) and seeds (25%) are frequently used plant parts in ‘Lehya’ preparation. The most important plant species according to the quantitative data analysis are Cassia sophera, Centella asiatica, Cocos nucifera, Cucumis melo var. acidulus, Curcuma longa, Phoenix dactylifera and Syzygium aromaticum

Oromandibular Dystonia: An Update for Dental Professionals

Oromandibular Dystonia (OMD) is a type of focal dystonia which affects the masticatory, cervical, facial, eyelid, laryngeal, and pharyngeal muscles. OMD patients may consult dentists with involuntary movement or spasm of the lips, tongue, involuntary jaw opening or closing, changes in the occlusion, slurred speech, drooling of saliva, difficulty in mastication, swallowing, and speaking. Due to the uncommon occurrence of OMD, this condition may be misdiagnosed and may lead to unnecessary treatment. Thus thorough knowledge regarding the features of OMD is essential for the dentists. Present review focus on the signs and symptoms of OMD, diagnosis and management of these patients

Oral leukoplakia: A review of clinical features and trends in management

Introduction: Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) conisit of the group of diseases of great importance for dentists. Oral leukoplakia (OL) has long been the subject of debate by numerous researchers. A common etiologic factor is tobacco, which is associated with oral cancer. The aim of the study is to indicate the severity of the lesion, the most common clinical characreistics and localization. The prevalence of leukoplakia in the world is 2.6% with a rate of malignant conversion ranging from 0.1% to 17.5%. Literature data about the prevalence and annual rate of malignant transformation, approximately 2%, indicate that these changes should be taken seriously and regularymonitored Conclusion: Occurate diagnosis provides the key to preventing to malignant transformation. Various medical and surgical treatment modalities for this lesion have been described. This article highlights various trends in the diagnosis and treatment of oral leukoplakia

Status of thiocyanate levels in the serum and saliva of non-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers

Background: Use of tobacco is often implicated in the development of oral diseases. Questionable accuracy of the traditional questionnaires to assess cigarette exposure necessitates the use of biomarkers like thiocyanate which provide a definitive quantitative measure.Objective: To assess the rise in the level of thiocyanate for measurement of smoking behaviour in adults.Materials and methods: Serum and salivary thiocyanate levels were estimated in 20 non-smokers, 20 ex-smokers and 40 smokers. Smokers were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of oral mucosal lesions.Results: The mean serum and salivary thiocyanate levels were increased significantly in smokers when compared to non-smokers and ex-smokers. The levels were not significantly different between ex-smokers and non-smokers and between smokers with tobacco related oral mucosal lesions and those without. Statistically significant correlation was seen between the serum and salivary levels of thiocyanate.Conclusion: This study highlights the high level of thiocyanate in the serum and saliva of smokers when compared to non-smokers and ex-smokers. Significant increase in thiocyanate level was also seen in saliva. Hence it can be stated that saliva can be used as a reliable, non-invasive tool to assess smoking behaviour in the population and its changes over time.Keywords: Thiocyanate, tobacco, smoking, cancer, pre-cancer

Status of thiocyanate levels in the serum and saliva of non-smokers, ex-smokers and smokers

Background: Use of tobacco is often implicated in the development of oral diseases. Questionable accuracy of the traditional questionnaires to assess cigarette exposure necessitates the use of biomarkers like thiocyanate which provide a definitive quantitative measure. Objective: To assess the rise in the level of thiocyanate for measurement of smoking behaviour in adults. Materials and methods: Serum and salivary thiocyanate levels were estimated in 20 non-smokers, 20 ex-smokers and 40 smokers. Smokers were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of oral mucosal lesions. Results: The mean serum and salivary thiocyanate levels were increased significantly in smokers when compared to non-smokers and ex-smokers. The levels were not significantly different between ex-smokers and non-smokers and between smokers with tobacco related oral mucosal lesions and those without. Statistically significant correlation was seen between the serum and salivary levels of thiocyanate. Conclusion: This study highlights the high level of thiocyanate in the serum and saliva of smokers when compared to non-smokers and ex-smokers. Significant increase in thiocyanate level was also seen in saliva. Hence it can be stated that saliva can be used as a reliable, non-invasive tool to assess smoking behaviour in the population and its changes over time

Ameloblastomas vs recurrent ameloblastomas: a systematic review

Introduction: Ameloblastoma is an odontogenic tumour with high recurrence rate. The objective of the present study was to evaluate existing literature regarding clinical, radiographic, histopathologic features, treatment, and recurrence rate of ameloblastomas and compare it with features of recurrent ameloblastomas. Materials and methods: A systematic review was done based on the PRISMA statement. Search was performed in “Pubmed” database with search terminology “recurrent ameloblastoma”, “ameloblastoma recurrence” for articles published between 2010 and 2020. Data were extracted from full‐text articles and discussed. Results: Out of 515 articles, 16 articles fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was analysed in two sections. The first with 10 publications assessed features of ameloblastoma in general and their recurrence rate while the second section evaluated features of only recurrent ameloblastomas in 6 publications. There were 234 recurrences in 936 cases with recurrence rate of 23.50%. Male predominance was noted and mandible was commonly affected. Solid/multicystic ameloblastomas formed 74.5% of the tumours and unicystic formed 23.3%. The recurrence rate after conservative treatment was 64.9% and after radical treatment was 12%. Conclusions: The main factors for recurrence were multilocular ameloblastomas, follicular histopathology and conservative treatment

The reverse claw: Report of an extremely rare facial talon cusp

Talon cusp is a rare developmental anomaly that occurs most commonly on the lingual side of the incisors. Occurrence of the labial talon cusp is rare in the dental literature. Till date only seven cases of isolated nonsyndromic labial talon cusps have been reported in the maxillary permanent dentition. However, a few cases of syndromic labial talon cusps and faciolingual talon cusps have been reported. The aim of our report is to highlight clinical and radiological features of this rare anomaly