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Solitary fibrous tumors （SFTs） were reported in 1931 as tumors derived from mesenchymal tissue. They occur mainly in the pleura and peritoneum and rarely in the oral and maxillary regions. This report presents the case of a 48-year-old woman with a tumor in the left buccal mucosa. We suspected a salivary gland tumor or hemangioma. Excision was performed under general anesthesia. The lesion was removed as a single mass. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses led to the diagnosis of SFT. We report this case based on a literature review.

A definitive diagnosis of salivary gland tumors is extremely difficult to make without evaluating the entire tumor and conducting immunohistochemical examinations. In this study, we aimed to examine and compare the expression patterns of the tumor protein （TP） D52 family, including TPD52, TPD53, and TPD54, in salivary gland tumor cells by using immunohistochemical staining. Among over 30 benign and malignant salivary gland tumors with extensive and diverse morphological features and overlapping histological similarities, we selected Warthin’s tumor and pleomorphic adenoma to represent benign salivary gland tumors and mucoepidermoid carcinoma to represent malignant ones. Tumor samples were fixed in 10％ buffered formalin and embedded in paraffin. Then, immunohistochemical staining was performed using antibodies against TPD52, TPD53, and TPD54. Neither the benign salivary gland tumors nor mucoepidermoid carcinoma stained for TPD52. However, the intensity of TPD53 and TPD54 staining was found to be low in the benign salivary gland tumors and high in mucoepidermoid carcinoma. TPD54 may serve as a pathological indicator of benign salivary gland tumors and mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a benign lesion affecting the minor salivary glands of the hard palate. This lesion may be clinically and histopathologically confused with malignant lesions. A case of a 47-year-old man who presented with necrotizing sialometaplasia on the left side of the hard palate is herein reported. A biopsy was performed, and the condition was diagnosed based on immunohistochemistry. The lesion receded following treatment with tranexamic acid and sodium azulene sulfonate. The symptom of painful swelling on the hard palate subsided within 10 days. The palatal lesion had disappeared completely 4 months later.

Evaluation of masticatory performance is an important objective of orthognathic surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine masticatory performance including masticatory efficiency using chewing gum containing spherical resinous microparticles before and after orthognathic surgery. We evaluated 18 patients who underwent orthognathic surgery for masticatory efficiency (gum chewing), occlusal contact area (silicone bite) and occlusal pressure (pressure-sensitive sheet recording), and masticatory muscle activity (electromyographic evaluation of the masticatory muscles). Examinations were performed immediately before surgery, and 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. No significant difference in masticatory efficiency as a standard degree of comminution was found among any of the chewing sites or examination time points, and the patients showed a variety of changes in masticatory efficiency. Masticatory performance excluding masticatory efficiency was apparent after surgical recovery. These results suggest that masticatory efficiency as a standard degree of comminution varies before and after orthognathic surgery on a patient-to-patient basis.

Sialolithiasis most commonly affects the submandibular glands, followed by the parotid and sublingual glands. Sialolithiasis is a condition characterized by the obstruction of a salivary gland or its excretory duct due to calculi. Herein we describe a case of a 72-year-old male patient with a painful swelling of the parotid gland region. Parotitis due to sialolithiasis in the parotid gland duct was diagnosed based on computed tomography findings of a calculus (12×6×5mm) in the parotid gland duct. The calculus was spontaneously discharged from the parotid gland duct with viscous pus into the oral cavity after the inflammation had decreased. Thereafter, the parotitis quickly decreased more markedly. This case indicates that a calculus may be discharged spontaneously into the mouth, even if its diameter is>5mm.

It is not fully known if there are significant differences in the incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting（PONV）in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery under general anesthesia following administration of desflurane compared to other conventional maintenance anesthetics, such as sevoflurane and propofol. This study was aimed to address this issue using network meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials. Summary effect sizes were calculated as odds ratios（ORs）with 95％ confidence intervals（CIs）. The incidence of PONV after administration of different anesthetics was compared by surface under the cumulative ranking curve（SUCRA）analysis. The odds of desflurane vs sevoflurane, desflurane vs propofol, and sevoflurane vs propofol contributing to the incidence of PONV were 0.44（95％ CI, 0.12-1.61）, 2.43（95％ CI, 0.72-8.26）, and 5.50（95％ CI, 1.78-16.93）, respectively. The SUCRA scores for desflurane, sevoflurane, and propofol were 48.3, 5.6, and 96.1, respectively. The incidence of PONV after desflurane administration did not differ significantly from that after sevoflurane and propofol administration. However, the odds of PONV occurring after sevoflurane administration were significantly higher than those after propofol administration. Moreover, the SUCRA score after desflurane administration was greater than that after sevoflurane administration. These results confirm the safety of desflurane regarding PONV in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery under general anesthesia.

Neural crest cells emerge from the dorsal region of the fusing neural tube in vertebrate embryos, then migrate throughout tissues to differentiate into various cell types, including osteoblasts. In adults, subsets of neural crest-derived cells (NCDCs) reside as stem cells and are considered to be useful cell sources for regenerative medicine. Previous studies have suggested that these NCDC subsets persist into adulthood in mammals, especially those cells within the craniofacial compartments. Recently, our group found that NCDCs were scattered throughout tissues of the palate, gingiva, tongue, hair follicle, submandibular glands, and buccal mucosa of adult mice. NCDCs from the buccal mucosa can also form neurosphere-like structures that have the capability to differentiate into osteoblasts in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein-2. In addition, NCDCs in adults have characteristic gene expression profiles, especially their cell surface molecules. Thus, cell sorting using several specific cell surface molecules has been proposed as a useful method for isolating NCDCs with high purity. Together, these results suggest that NCDCs reside in various adult oral and maxillofacial regions, and possess the potential to differentiate into osteoblastic cells, indicating that these cells in adults may be a useful source for bone regeneration strategies. In this review, we discuss the distribution, isolation and osteoblastic differentiation potential of NCDCs isolated from various adult tissue sources in the oral and maxillofacial regions.