The cracked tooth syndrome--crown root vertical fracture

A case of an incomplete tooth fracture followed by a complete fracture was presented. The difficulty of diagnosing this condition was discussed as well as the possible histological explanation of the symptoms experienced by the patient. It once again points out to practising dentists, that whilst deep pockets can give rise to severe periodontal pain, intense and excruciating pain should be investigated with the cracked tooth in mind

Peripheral fibroma/fibrous epulis with and without calcifications. a clinical evaluation of 204 cases in Singapore

Peripheral fibroma/fibrous epulis accounts for the great majority of localised gingival swellings as was substantiated by various reports in the literature. A study was undertaken to investigate the clinical features of a series of 204 localised fibrous gingival swellings received by the Histopathology Laboratory, Department of Oral Surgery, National University of Singapore. The female patients were more affected than the male patients and the lesions occurred predominantly among the Chinese. The lesions were mainly pedunculated and most commonly occurred in anterior maxilla. The recurrence rate was about 10.3. In conclusion the results obtained in this study were overall in agreement with those of other authors

Immunohistochemical features of extra-nodal NK/T cell lymphoma

NK/T cell lymphoma is a destructive extranodal lymphoproliferative disorder of a putative natural killer (NK) cell lineage. This rare malignant lymphoma is difficult to diagnose due to the histological resemblance to reactive processes hence was once considered as an inflammatory lesion known as lethal midline granuloma or non-healing granuloma. Providentially, the advance in immunophenotyping has permit characterization of NK/T-cell lymphoma, as a distinct entity from other type of lymphoma. It is most commonly involved the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses and hard palate and as the case we reported here of a NK/T-cell lymphoma in a 29 year old Indonesian man whom presented with an ulcer on the palate. The ulcer started on the pharynx and progressively involved the soft and hard palate. Eventually, the whole palate appeared necrosed with granulation tissue and the uvula was elongated and irregular.Immunohistochemical studies leads to the diagnosis of an extranodular NK/T cell lymphom

Vitamin E (-Tocopherol) Exhibits Antitumour Activity on Oral Squamous Carcinoma Cells ORL-48

Cancers involving the oral cavity, head, and neck regions are often treated with cisplatin. In cancer therapy, the main target is to eliminate unwanted cancerous cells. However, reports on the nonselective nature of this drug have raised few concerns. Incorrect nutritional habits and lifestyle practices have been directly linked to cancer incidence. Nutrients with antioxidant activity inhibit cancer cells development, destroying them through oxidative stress and apoptosis. -tocopherol, the potent antioxidant form of vitamin E is a known scavenger of free radicals. In vitro study exhibited effective antitumor activity of -tocopherol on ORL-48 at 2.5 +/- 0.42 mu g/mL. Cisplatin exhibited stronger activity at 1.0 +/- 0.15 mu g/mL, but unlike -tocopherol it exhibited cytotoxicity on normal human epidermal keratinocytes at very low concentration (<0.1 mu g/mL). Despite the lower potency of -tocopherol, signs of apoptosis such as the shrinkage of cells and appearance of apoptotic bodies were observed much earlier than cisplatin in time lapse microscopy. No apoptotic vesicles were formed with cisplatin, instead an increased population of cells in the holoclone form which may suggest different induction mechanisms between both agents. High accumulation of cells in the G0/G1 phase were observed through TUNEL and annexin V-biotin assays, while the exhibition of ultrastructural changes of the cellular structures verified the apoptotic mode of cell death by both agents. Both cisplatin and -tocopherol displayed cell cycle arrest at the Sub G0 phase. -tocopherol thus, showed potential as an antitumour agent for the treatment of oral cancer and merits further research

Sociodemographic characteristics, clinicopathological parameters and survival among Malaysians with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)

Introduction: Western researchers showed that oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients exhibit lower survival rate and poorer prognosis compared to other type of cancer where several clinicopathological parameters have been implicated in the survival of patients. This study aims to assess the association between sociodemographic and clinicopathological parameters with survival of OSCC patients. Method: Data were collected from 253 histologically diagnosed OSCC patients attending selected clinics nationwide. Survival was analyzed for relation with habits, site, disease stage and nodal involvement. Results: Mean age was 58.9 ± 12.6 years with 8.3% aged less than 40. Majority is females (61.1%) and of Indian ethnic (48.0%). Most common habit was quid chewing (55.8%), followed by smoking (29.7%) and most came at stage IV (44.3%). Tongue was the most common site (38.9%), followed by buccal mucosa (35.0%). Factors associated with survival are smoking (p = 0.016), stage at presentation (p < 0.001) and nodal involvement (p < 0.001). Discussion: Majority of OSCC cases occurred among Indians where the patients were quid chewers and presents with advanced cancer. Survival of patients decreased steadily over the years. At 1 year after diagnosis, 67.2% was still alive but only 13.4% survived 5 years. Among the habits studied, only smoking was found to be associated with survival where among those smoking, only 38.7% is alive compared to 61.3% deceased. No association was found between site and survival. A highly significant association was seen for both cancer stage and nodal involvement with survival. More survivors were found among those who come at early stage (76.3%) compared to late stage (32.7%). Similarly, more than two thirds (69.1%) of those who present with negative nodal involvement were found to be alive. In conclusion, smoking, disease stage and nodal status are predictors of survival for OSCC patients in Malaysia. Acknowledgements: Grant-IRPA06-02-03-0174PR0054/05-05/, OPEX-UM 2008, 2009, 2010, Abraham, M.T., Anand, R., Tay, K.K., Mustafa, W.M.W., Yuen, K.M., Norlida, A., Rahman, Z.A.A

Oral mucosal lesions in Malay quid and non-quid chewers in Kelantan

The Malaysian nationwide survey on oral mucosal lesions (OML) in 1993/94 showed a low prevalence of OML in particular oral cancer and precancer (OPC) among Malays as compared to the Indians and the Indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. A low prevalence of quid chewing habit was also noted in the Malays in that survey. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the low prevalence of OPC in the Malays was attributed to the low prevalence of quid users among the Malays and/or whether the quid contents used were different. Two examiners were trained prior to the survey. The interexaminer consistency of diagnosing the presence or absence of lesions was 91.3. An interview on their oral habits was also done. The mean age of 276 subjects examined was 61.1± 10.1 years. There were 23.6 men and 76.4 women. Among the subjects interviewed, 41.7 were smokers and 37.7 were quid chewers. The prevalence of OML was 20.3 while OPC was found in only 1.4 of the subjects examined. Among the quid chewers and non-quid chewers, the prevalence of OML was found to be 35.6 and 11 respectively. However the prevalence of OPC (only leukoplakia and lichen planus were detected; cancer, erythroplakia and oral submucous fibrosis were absent) was equally low in both groups (1.9 among quid chewers and 1.2 among non-quid chewers). Such low prevalence of OPC among Malay quid chewers differed from reported higher prevalences of OPC in the Malaysian Indians and the Indigenous people of Sarawak. A further analysis of the quid contents showed a low usage of tobacco (3.8) in the quid mixtures chewed by these subjects as compared to the quid mixtures reportedly used by the Indian and the Indigenous people Sarawak. It is concluded that the lack of tobacco in the quid mixtures used by the Malays may be related to the low prevalence of OPC in Malay quid chewers

Cultural and dietary risk factors of oral cancer and precancer - a brief overview

This is an update on cultural and dietary risk factors for oral precancer and cancer. It is an overview on ethnic differences (where possible) and socio-cultural risk factors (tobacco/areca nut/betel quid, alcohol use and dietary factors) in relation to oral precancer and cancer. While studies were from Western countries, India and China, this update also attempts to include and highlight some studies conducted in the Asia-Pacific region

Fibrous lesions of the gingiva: A histopathologic analysis of 204 cases

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology704466-470OSOM

The dental health of factory workers in Pasir Gudang, Johor (Malaysia)

A study on the oral health status of 198 factory workers (in Antara Steel, Pasir Gudang, Johor) was carried out in November 1986. The subjects were predominantly male (94%) and Malay (91%) with an average age of 27.4 years. The prevalence of caries was 87.4% with a mean DMFT of 7.1 ? 5.4. There were 3 subjects with full upper, lower dentures and 16 subjects with partial dentures. Two subjects examined needed dentures but were not wearing them. Thirty five (17.7%) of those examined needed urgent extractions, and 8 needed emergency treatment for fillings. Enamel opacities were found in 141 subjects (75.6%) but only 9 were aware of these defects. Dental health was very poor with 72% examined needing scaling. Seventeen (9%) had gross supra and subgingival calculus. There was a total of 107 (54%) smokers and heavy nicotine stains were found in 41 (20.7%), of the population examined. Examination of soft tissues showed 111 (56%) subjects with recurrent aphthous ulcers whilst 15 (7.6%) suffered from herpes labialis. Five subjects (2.5%) suffered from denture stomatitis whilst the prevalence of other soft tissue lesions was very low

The social impact of oral and facial pain in an industrial population

The aim of this study is to determine the social impact of oral and facial pain in a sample involving an industrial population. Out of a total of 355 subjects interviewed, nearly one-half claimed to have oral and facial pain in the previous one month prior to the survey. The most common type of pain was that related to hot or cold fluids or sweet things followed by toothache. On the average, the pain lasted for 4.2 days (SD = 4.9) per person in the past one-month. About one in five persons with pain reported that it was severe enough to disrupt sleep. About one in ten persons reporting pain had to take sick leave because of the pain. However, only one in four persons with pain consulted a doctor or dentist. More than one-third tried to cope with the pain and did nothing while the rest tried various means of self-cure. It is therefore postulated that in this population, pain per se is a poor predictor of utilisation of dental services. Further research into pain coping behaviour and how this affects of pattern of utilisation of dental services is indicated in order to formulate a strategy to encourage the habit of seeking prompt dental care by the target population