Remodeling of the antegonial angle region in the human mandible : a panoramic radiographic cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study analyzed changes in the antegonial region in relation to age, gender, and dental status. Study design: A total of one thousand patients (five hundred males and five hundred females), who were prescribed panoramic radiograph for various purposes were included in the study. The patients were categorized according to age, gender and dentition status. Panoramic radiographs were traced and antegonial angles and depths were measured. Results: A trend of decrease in the antegonial angle and increase in antegonial depth with age was observed in both males and females. Furthermore there were differences between right and left side antegonial angle and depth, with left side angle more than right and right side depth more than left. There was a significant decrease in the values of antegonial angle and significant increase in the values of antegonial depth as the dentition status changed from completely dentulous to partially dentulous and from partially dentulous to completely edentulous state. Conclusions: The antegonial angle decreases with the advancing age and thereby increases the antegonial depth. Similar trends are seen when teeth are lost. Furthermore there is an inherent asymmetry in the antegonial region in right and left side

Integrating dentistry into palliative medicine - Novel insights and opportunities

Palliative care is a global human right, to be provided in a systematic way. The dentist can help the patient right from the initial diagnosis of the condition up to the relief of pain in the terminal stages of the diseases. This inquiry into the oral physician‘s role on elderly care and special needs would be of benefit to researchers of Palliative Dentistry; particularly in multidisciplinary contexts. This text proposes to discussintegrated oral care, oral health care delivery system, and a flow of educational actions, resources, research, conceptual framework, guidelines and dissemination of newer trends in oral palliative care

Usefulness of salivary alpha amylase as a biomarker of chronic stress and stress related oral mucosal changes ' a pilot study

Introduction: Salivary biomarkers are suggested to provide a reliable, noninvasive and objective measurement of chronic psychosocial stress and helps in assessment of pivotal role of stress in causation or precipitation of multitude of health problems Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of salivary alpha amylase activity as an objective indicator of chronic stress and to find out any correlation between stress- related mucosal complaints and its levels. Study Design: Study was conducted among 50 subjects suffering from chronic stress related problems and 50 nonstressed individuals who were screened with a psychometric questionnaire. Brief case history and oral examination was carried out and about one ml of unstimulated saliva was collected. Salivary alpha amylase levels estimated were compared between study and control group and between subjects with and without oral mucosal changes using non parametric Mann Whitney U test Results: There was statistically significant higher salivary alpha amylase levels in study group (p = .002) and salivary alpha amylase between the oral mucosal complaints group and without oral mucosal complaints group within the total study population were found to be statistically significant (p=0.045). Conclusion: Salivary amylase activity increases in patients with chronic psychosocial stress and may be used as a biomarker of chronic stress, but it may not be an indicator to suggest the development of stress related oral mucosal changes

Oro-facial aspects of leprosy : report of two cases with literature review

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease affecting primarily the skin, peripheral nerves, respiratory system and the eyes. Leprosy induces various types of clinical presentation affecting the patient´s immune response. Cellmediated immunity is considered to be the crucial defence against the disease and the magnitude of this immunity defines the extent of the disease. The article presents two case reports of manifestations of leprosy in the oro-facial region, with a brief review of various other important oro-facial manifestations of leprosy. The first report deals with granulomatous nodules in the palate while the second report presents bilateral facial palsy in leprosy patients. Both the reports gain importance due to rare oral manifestation in a borderline leprosy patient in the first case, while the second case presents a rare bilateral Bell´s sign. The role of the dental profession and especially the Oral Medicine specialist is of great importance in early diagnosis of oral lesions

Developing Health Care Research into Practice: Indian Scenario

Research findings should be used by practitioners to provide good health care to people, this is not happening for a variety of reasons. This paper discusses the different hurdles for developing research into practice, and the state of research in the Indian health care sector

The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in patients visiting a dental school in Southern India

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Manipal, Karnataka State, India. A total of 1190 subjects who visited the department of oral medicine and radiology for diagnosis of various oral complaints over a period of 3 months were interviewed and clinically examined for oral mucosal lesions. The result showed the presence of one or more mucosal lesions in (41.2%) of the population. Fordyce′s condition was observed most frequently (6.55%) followed by frictional keratosis (5.79%), fissured tongue (5.71%), leukoedema (3.78%), smoker′s palate (2.77%), recurrent aphthae, oral submucous fibrosis (2.01%), oral malignancies (1.76%), leukoplakia (1.59%), median rhomboid glossitis (1.50%), candidiasis (1.3%), lichen planus (1.20%), varices (1.17%), traumatic ulcer and oral hairy leukoplakia (1.008%), denture stomatitis, geographic tongue, betel chewer′s mucosa and irritational fibroma (0.84%), herpes labialis, angular cheilitis (0.58%), and mucocele (0.16%). Mucosal lesions like tobacco-related lesions (leukoplakia, smoker′s palate, oral submucous fibrosis, and oral malignancies) were more prevalent among men than among women. Denture stomatitis, herpes labialis, and angular cheilitis occurred more frequently in the female population

Hypoglossia Type 1A: Report of a case and review of literature with focus on clinical investigations

Hypoglossia is a rare entity which is reported sporadically. Hypoglossia has often occurred in an association with limb anomalies and, therefore, these cases have been grouped together as hypoglossia-hypodactylia within oromandibular limb hypogenesis syndromes. The literature on this condition is reviewed, and a case of hypoglossia has also been presented. An investigative protocol to aid in the treatment planning of a patient with hypoglossia has also been suggested

"Multiple Papillomas - a case report and review of literature"

We report a unique case of extensive papilIomatosis of the left buccal mucosa in an 80 year old female patient. We document and discuss the probable multifactorial etiology of the lesions and the possible involvement of a syndromic association. This report illustrates the need for careful clinical investigation and follow-up of individuals presenting with multifocal involvement of papillomas

The prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in patients visiting a dental school in Southern India

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in Manipal, Karnataka State, India. A total of 1190 subjects who visited the department of oral medicine and radiology for diagnosis of various oral complaints over a period of 3 months were interviewed and clinically examined for oral mucosal lesions. The result showed the presence of one or more mucosal lesions in (41.2%) of the population. Fordyce's condition was observed most frequently (6.55%) followed by frictional keratosis (5.79%), fissured tongue (5.71%), leukoedema (3.78%), smoker's palate (2.77%), recurrent aphthae, oral submucous fibrosis (2.01%), oral malignancies (1.76%), leukoplakia (1.59%), median rhomboid glossitis (1.50%), candidiasis (1.3%), lichen planus (1.20%), varices (1.17%), traumatic ulcer and oral hairy leukoplakia (1.008%), denture stomatitis, geographic tongue, betel chewer's mucosa and irritational fibroma (0.84%), herpes labialis, angular cheilitis (0.58%), and mucocele (0.16%). Mucosal lesions like tobacco-related lesions (leukoplakia, smoker's palate, oral submucous fibrosis, and oral malignancies) were more prevalent among men than among women. Denture stomatitis, herpes labialis, and angular cheilitis occurred more frequently in the female population

Antibiotic prophylaxis before invasive dental procedures for patients at high risk of infective endocarditis - A systematic review

Background: Clinical use of antibiotics prophylaxis (AP) for preventing infective endocarditis (IE) after invasive dental procedures is controversial. Expert consensus guidelines are inconsistent, either restricting its use to high-risk individuals or advising its use again. Objectives: To determine whether there is a genuine need for AP to prevent IE in high-risk patients undergoing invasive dental procedures. Methods: Online search was performed on PubMed, Science Direct, British Dental Journal and Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials. The methodological quality of each study was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Results: Seventeen (17) clinical trials were included in the final analysis recruiting 2,410 patients (AP = 1,366; placebo = 1,044). Bacteraemia was detected in 302 AP patients (22.1%) and 362 placebo patients (34.7%). AP reduced the risk of bacteraemia by 49% (risk ratio: 0.51; 95% CI; 0.45 to 0.58; P = 0.0001). Conclusion: Although using AP for IE may be pragmatic and justified for high-risk patients undergoing invasive dental procedures, the evidence is inconclusive because post-procedural bacteraemia may not be a good surrogate marker for IE. Moreover, trials investigating the direct association between AP and IE are lacking due to low disease prevalence and high-cost challenges