Search

Introduction: Sex determination in forensic anthropology is an essential step for medico-legal purposes and crucial for identification as the number of possible matches is reduced to 50%.Teeth are an excellent material for anthropological, genetic, odontological and forensic investigations as they are known to resist a variety of ante-mortem and post-mortem insults. Sexual dimorphism in tooth size and the accuracy of odontometric sex prediction is found to vary in different population and therefore it is necessary to determine specific population values in order to make identification possible. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the existence of sexual dimorphism in South Kerala population. Aim: To evaluate and estimate the degree of odontometric sexual dimorphism in all permanent teeth except third molars and the variations in odontometric dimensions between the left and right side teeth of the maxillary and mandibular arches in male and female groups. Materials and Methods: The MesioDistal (MD) and BuccoLingual (BL) measurements of 28 teeth were estimated from the preorthodontic casts of 132 subjects; male group (66 males) and female group (66 females) of age range 15-25 years using digital Verniers' Caliper. The data obtained were analysed using SPSS version 17 and the Students' t-test for two independent samples. Results: The MesioDistal (MD) and BuccoLingual (BL) parameters of all permanent teeth in the study group showed sexual dimorphism. Over 39% of the tooth variables showed reverse dimorphism. The comparison of mean values of MD and BL diameters of the maxillary and mandibular, right and left side teeth in male and female groups showed statistical significance in males whereas females show non-significant values in both MD and BL diameters. Conclusion: The study showed a varied percentage of sexual dimorphism and variation in the mean values of MD and BL dimensions in males, but not in females between right and left side teeth of the maxillary and mandibular arches of the study population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral cancer remains the most common cancer reported in Indian males. Tobaco smoking, alcohol and pan masala use are considered as the major risk factors for oral cancer. Pan masala use has become a common culture in Indian community. Many studies have been conducted among fisher folks regarding the prevalence of pan masala use. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of panmasala use among coastal population and factors related to it. Methodology : A community based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1076 randomly selected male fishermen aged 25 years and above in three randomly selected coastal villages of Thiruvananthapuram district. Chi-square test and standard deviation and percentage values were used as the statistical tool. p value less than 0.05 is considered as significant. Result : The prevalence of pan masala use was 28.3%.panmasala use is highest among the men of age group of 45-50 years. The mean age of onset of pan masala use was 17.7(standard deviation [sd] 9.7).Only 40.4% of the study population had awareness about the fact that pan chewing can cause oral cancer . 87.2% subjects agreed that panmasala which they consume regularly contain tobacoo. The factors which favour pan masala use were(p<0.05) low education, ageing and low awareness . Conclusion: The present study has identified very high level of panmasala use among young fishermen and easily onset of these habits. It has also been noticed that reported oral morbidities are high among pan masala users. The study highlights the need of an extensive oral cancer screening and awareness programmes against pan masala use in the coastal areas for early detection and prevention of tobacco induced oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though rapid advances have been made in the field of medicine and surgery, cancer is one of the leading causes for all human deaths. It is estimated that more than one million new Oral Cancer cases are being detected annually in the Indian subcontinent, of which 90% are oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC). It has been well established by researchers that virtually all OSCC's are preceded by visible clinical changes in the oral mucosa, usually in the form of white or red patch. 60-70% of the Indian patients presented for treatment only in the advanced stage of Oral Cancer, leading to high mortality rate. Lack of public awareness about the signs, symptoms and risk factors, along with the absence of knowledge for early detection by health-care providers are believed to be responsible for this diagnostic delay in identifying the potentially malignant disorders. This article makes an attempt to provide and update the knowledge about these disorders to health-care providers in order to help in early detection and treatment of Oral Cancer, thus reducing its mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymorphous low grade Adenocarcinoma (PLGA) is a malignant epithelial tumour that is essentially limited in occurrence to minor salivary gland sites. It has a unique clinical, histomorphologic and behavioural aspects. It is mainly reported as a painless swelling of the hard and soft palate along with symptoms of bleeding, telengiectasia or ulceration of the overlying mucosa occasionally. In this paper, we present a case of Polymorphous low grade Adenocarcinoma with its clincopathological features and immunohistochemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary neoplasms of human skeleton are rare, accounting for 0.2% of overall human tumor burden. Osteosarcoma accounts for 15-35% of all primary bone tumors. While osteosarcoma of jaw bones are even rarer, representing 4-8% of all osteosarcomas. Peak incidence for jaw osteosarcoma is 3rd-4th decade, while osteosarcomas of long bones show a bimodal age distribution. Here we report an unusual case history of a 54yrs old male with swelling in anterior gingiva of maxilla with mobility of teeth, which on x-ray was defined as noncontributory, and on incisional biopsy was diagnosed as giant cell granuloma. However on histopathological examination after wide surgical excision, it showed large areas of lobular malignant cartilage with few areas of disorganized tumor osteoid and atypical spindle cells, and was reported as chondroblastic osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]