Search

Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is a rare acquired disorder characterized by diffuse hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa and longitudinal melanonychia in adults. They appear as macular lesions less than 5 mm in diameter. Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is considered to be a benign disease with no systemic manifestation or malignant potential. Therefore, it is important to rule out other mucocutaneous pigmentary disorders that do require medical management. Prompt clinical recognition also averts the need for excessive and invasive procedures and treatments. In India, the reported cases of this syndrome are very few. We provide a review of literature on Laugier-Hunziker syndrome with its differential diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibrosarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm of fibroblasts that rarely affects the oral cavity and can cause local recurrences or metastasis. Fibrosarcomas account for 15% of all soft tissue sarcomas, which represent only 1% of all malignant tumors of the head and neck region. The clinical behavior of the fibrosarcoma is characterized by a high local recurrence rate, and low incidence of loco regional lymph node and/or distant hematogenous metastasis. The etiology for fibrosarcoma has no definite cause but is thought to occur from preexisting lesions or in previously irradiated areas of bone lesions. Immunosuppression associated with HIV infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been consistently linked to various cancers, including Kaposi's sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and invasive cervical cancer. Rare neoplasms like Hodgkin's disease, anal cancer, leukemia, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma have also been demonstrated. This paper presents one such a rare incidence of an intraosseous fibrosarcoma occurring in an HIV-positive patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile hyaline fibromatosis is an exceedingly rare disorder of infants and children which appears to have autosomal recessive inheritance. It is characterized by multiple, slowly growing dermal or subcutaneous tumors, especially in the head and neck region and upper trunk, often associated with gingival hypertrophy, severe flexural limb contractures and bone lesions. There is no mental retardation. Histologically, these lesions are composed of copious eosinophilic, homogenous ground substance with unevenly dispersed fibroblasts. Lesions excised in early stages are more cellular. The precise nature of the eosinophilic hyaline material is not known. Recently, a defect on chromosome 4q21 associated with the locus of the capillary morphogenesis gene - 2, has been demonstrated. The differential diagnosis of juvenile hyaline fibromatosis includes infantile systemic hyalinosis, which is now known to be allelic. Currently, no widely accepted effective treatment exists for juvenile hyaline fibromatosis or infantile systemic hyalinosis. Infantile systemic hyalinosis and juvenile hyaline fibromatosis are sometimes difficult to separate since they show significant overlap. We report one such unusual case of juvenile hyaline fibromatosis in a 10 year old female presenting mainly with gingival hyperplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Stomatologica Croatica is the property of Acta Stomatologica Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Pulse granuloma is a distinct oral entity characterized as a foreign body reaction occurring either centrally or peripherally. It is usually seen in the periapical or in the sulcus area. Occasionally the lesions occur in the wall of the cyst, commonest being the inflammatory odontogenic cyst. Histologically, they present as eosinophilic hyaline mass with giant cell inclusions and inflammatory cells. They may show different histological characteristics, possibly related to the length of time in the tissue. Adequate recognition is important to avoid misdiagnosis. Many authors suggest that pulse granuloma results due to implantation of food particles of plant or vegetable origin into the tissue following tooth extraction. This paper aims to report a case of pulse granuloma associated with keratocystic odontogenic tumor with its histochemical and polarizing microscopic features and discuss on etiopathogenesis of pulse granuloma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the main characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is genetic alteration in specific target regions. Allelic imbalance in tumor suppressor genes is the key event in OSCC which is associated with loss of heterozygosity mostly on chromosome 9p21 locus which includes p16 marker. p16 (D9S1747) is a microsatellite marker which detects early changes in OSCC. To redefine more clearly the role of D9S1747 (p16 microsatellite marker) and its expression in OSCC, the study was designed with the aim to check the detection of D9S1747 in OSCC and to compare the same with histopathological grades and tumor node metastasis staging. Materials and Methods: Forty cases of paraffin-embedded tissue section which was histologically confirmed as OSCC and 10 cases of normal tissues were retrieved from the archives. DNA was extracted from the tissue sections and subjected for polymerase chain reaction to detect p16 microsatellite marker D9S1747. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Results: Twenty-seven cases (67.5%) showed p16 microsatellite marker positivity for OSCC. It was observed that 44.4%, 51.9% and 3.7% p16 microsatellite markers were positive in Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 4 OSCC cases, respectively. p16 microsatellite marker positivity was found in 77.8%, 22.2% and 0% for well-differentiated, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated OSCC cases, respectively. Conclusion: The observations of the present study revealed D9S1747 marker as an early event in OSCC, and this can be used as a prognostic marker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What if a group of microorganisms emerge subgingivally at a much higher population density during the onset of inflammatory lesions than detectable in healthy sites? What if their sheer numbers dominated among the microflora in the severely diseased periodontium and their presence correlate with progressive periodontal disease activity? What if they selectively suppress key pathways of local immunity? What if they are highly proteolytic that disabled cellular migration and chemotaxis? Infectious disease specialists such as oral pathologists would target this group of micro-organisms for intensive investigation to find out the relation of these with the disease progression. One such group of microorganism is oral spirochetes which satisfy all of the above criteria that will categorize them as "Periodontal pathogens." But they get little respect and attention among the practicing community as these organisms, visualized in dental plaque, still poses many problems to researchers and clinicians. Even though more than 60 different phylotypes of oral spirochetes are known to exist, only 10 have been cultivated so far. In spite of great extent of work being done, cultivation and recognition of oral spirochetes remains one of the most challenging and difficult tasks for a microbiological lab. This could be owed to fastidious and stringent requirements for anaerobic atmosphere and complex nutritional supplements for the growth of this organism and also due to the adherence property of oral treponeme species, both to host cells and matrix proteins in vitro. In view of these, different methods have been developed to detect and quantify spirochetes such as microscopic techniques, immunological assays, enzymatic methods and molecular methods. This poster highlights the methods of isolation and various techniques used in identifying them and their role in the periodontal disease progression and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dental caries is a multistep process which initiates the development of plaque' defined as a structured biofilm containing microbial communities. Teeth provide unique surfaces for bacterial colonization. Serotypes of Streptococcus mutans implicate the development of dental caries., Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and association of serotypes of S. mutans in groups with and without dental caries., Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty adults aged between 18 and 35 years were included in the study. Supragingival plaque samples were collected, followed by deoxyribonucleic acid extraction. Polymerase chain reaction was performed to identify S. mutans and its serotypes. Proportions of S. mutans and its serotypes were correlated with caries-active (CA) and caries-free (CF) groups., Results: CA group showed 66.7% positivity for S. mutans and CF group showed only 42.7% of positivity. Serotype C showed a higher proportion followed by E' F, and K in the CA group, whereas in the CF group, higher proportion was observed with K followed by C' E, and F. 70.8% cases showed single serotype in the CA group and 83.3% in CF group. Multiple serotypes were seen in 29.2% in the CA group and 16.7% in the CF group., Conclusions: The study clearly established variation in proportions of S. mutans and its serotypes between CA and CF groups. Positive correlation was observed in the CA group for S. mutans and its serotypes., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Journal of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics.)

Oral leukoplakia is the most common premalignant lesion of the oral cavity and is associated with development of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Certain changes at cellular and molecular level are important indicators for transformation into carcinoma. Podoplanin, a transmembrane glycoprotein is involved in the cytoskeletal remodeling and increased motility of the cell which helps in determining the malignant potential of oral leukoplakic lesions. The objective of the study was to determine immunohistochemically the expression of podoplanin in homogenous (HOL) and nonhomogenous oral leukoplakia (NHOL) and to compare the expression with clinicopathological parameters. Study group included 15 cases each of HOL, NHOL and control group included 15 healthy volunteers. Both tissues were immunohistochemically stained for podoplanin (D2-40) antibody. No statistical significant difference was observed between the study and control groups for expression of podoplanin but significant difference was observed on comparison of podoplanin scores between HOL and NHOL. Statistical significant difference was observed when the podoplanin expression in the epithelium and the lymphatic vessel density were correlated with the histologic grading of HOL and NHOL. Expression of podoplanin was greater in NHOL as compared with HOL, this supports the fact that NHOL has a greater risk of malignant transformation when compared with HOL. Podoplanin expression, lymphangiogenesis, and lymphatic vessel density increased with increasing grades of dysplasia, suggesting that cellular modeling and motility is increased as the grade of dysplasia advances. Thus suggesting podoplanin can be used as a prognostic marker to determine the malignant potential in oral leukoplakias.

Introduction: Palatoscopy is the study of palatal rugae pattern to establish the identity of a person. The palatal rugae are permanent and unique to each person and can establish identity through discrimination (via casts, tracings, or digitized rugae patterns). In addition, rugae pattern may be specific to racial groups facilitating population identification (which may require postdisasters). Hence, they can be used in postmortem identification provided an antemortem record exists., Aim: To determine the palatal rugae pattern and to assess the predominant palatal rugae pattern in Indian and Tibetan (in Mundgod Taluka, Karnataka) populations., Materials and Methods: The impressions of the maxillary arch were made for a total of one hundred adults comprising fifty Indian and fifty Tibetan populations aged between 20 and 40 years, and the dental cast was made using dental stone. The rugae were highlighted by a sharp graphite pencil on the cast under adequate light and a magnification lens. Rugae patterns were assessed using Thomas and Kotze and Kapali et al . classification., Results: Total number of palatal rugae in Indian population (461) was more than Tibetan population (351). Moreover, Indian population showed predominantly wavy (43.60%) rugae pattern, whereas Tibetan showed curved (38.2%) rugae pattern., Conclusion: This suggests that there is a difference in the rugae pattern between Indian and Tibetan populations. Hence, palatal rugae pattern can be used as one of the methods in determining the ethnicity., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Background: Sex identification of unknown individuals is important in forensic sciences. At times when only skull remains are found and other means of identification fails, radiographs of frontal sinus can be used for identification. Frontal sinus morphology is unique to individual and can be used effectively in person identification; whereas its use in determining sexual dimorphism is limited., Aim: To determine sexual dimorphism among Indians by evaluating frontal sinus pattern using postero-anterior radiograph., Materials and Methods: The right and left areas, maximum height and width of frontal sinus were determined in 300 digital postero-anterior view radiographs obtained from 150 males and 150 females aged between 18-30 years. The measurements were carried out by transferring the image to Adobe(®) Photoshop(®) CS3 extended. Comparison of values were done using student's t-test and accuracy of sex determination was assessed through Logistic regression analysis., Results and Conclusions: One hundred and forty seven males and 142 females show presence of frontal sinus with seven individuals showing unilateral/bilateral absence of frontal sinuses. The mean values of the frontal sinus height, width and area are greater in males. Right frontal sinus is larger than the left sinus in both the sex. The mathematical model based on logistic regression analysis gives an average concordance index for sex determination of 64.6%. Thus, frontal sinus provides average accuracy in sex determination among Indian population. This may be due to its greater variation in morphology.