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INTRODUCTION: Almost all hard tissue injuries in oral and maxillofacial region are associated with some type of soft tissue injuries; however, the relationship between different types of oro-facial soft tissue injuries and various maxillofacial bone fractures is not well-established. OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between soft tissue injuries and underlying hard tissue injuries in the oral and maxillofacial region. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a prospective study among patients with oral and maxillofacial soft tissue injuries treated at Muhimbili National Hospital. Variables examined included age, sex, etiology of injury, location of soft tissue injury, and type of maxillofacial fracture sustained. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 23. Logistic regression was applied to analyze the relationship between the type of soft tissue injuries and the associated underlying hard tissue injuries. RESULTS: The study included 160 patients, who had sustained soft tissue injuries to the oro-facial region. Non-ending sub-conjunctival ecchymosis was the soft tissue injury that was strongly associated with zygomatico-maxillary fractures (OR: 5.8; 95% CI: 1.85-18.16), and hematoma of the floor of the mouth was positively associated with parasymphyseal fractures of the mandible (OR: 4.7; 95% CI: 1.16-19.42). Laceration to the forehead is most suggestive of an underlying fracture of the frontal bone, while contusion/laceration on the palate predicts Le-Fort I or II fractures. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study concluded that certain types of oro-facial soft tissue injuries can aid in the diagnosis of specific underlying maxillofacial bone fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of dental fear and its related factors among patients managed in a pediatric dental clinic of a university hospital in Tanzania. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the paediatric dental clinic of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) between November 2018 and April 2019. It included all paediatric dental patients aged between 6 and 12 years. A questionnaire used in this study captured information regarding patients' socio-demographic characteristics and the number of previous visits to the dental clinic. A fifteen-item Children's Fear Survey Schedule - Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was used to assess the dental fear status in these pediatric patients. Results: A total of 223 paediatric dental patients aged between 6 years and 12 years were included in the study. The mean age of participants was 9.52 ± 1.74 years with a male to female ratio of 1: 1.04. The means CFSS-DS score was 31.1 ± 8.57. Fear scores were high for Injections (3.37 ± 1.13), a stranger's touch (2.81 ± 1.08) and choking (2.69 ± 0.99). The presence of dental fear was found to be significantly associated with the parents' education level (p=0.001) and previous dental visits (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the prevalence of paediatric dental fear was low among the participants of this study. The education level of parents and previous dental visits were determinants of dental fear in children. Injections, being touched by strangers, and choking were the common fear-provoking factors. INTRODUCTION Dental fear is considered to be a significant 1 challenge in the management of pediatric patients . It usually leads to avoidance of dental treatment and neglect of dental care, thereby negatively affecting 2 the child's oral health . The reported prevalence of dental fear among children in different countries 2,3 range between 5 and 33% . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic tongue is usually an asymptomatic inflammatory disorder of the tongue; however, symptomatic cases do occur and require treatment. Several management strategies have been reported yet they are neither specific nor curative., Objective: The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of an aspirin-ethanol mixture in the management of geographic tongue., Methods: In this prospective study, an analysis of medical reports of symptomatic cases of geographic tongue managed using an aspirin-ethanol mixture was done. The treatment regimen involved dissolving 3 mg of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) into 1 ml of 70% v/v ethanol. Then a sterile gauze is soaked in the prepared mixture and is topically used to clean the tongue with gentle pressure for 2-3 min., Results: The records of 23 patients were analyzed. There were more females (19, 82.6%), and the age range of patients was 15-43 years (mean age of 23.4 years). The symptoms that the patient described included: oral discomfort, burning sensations of the tongue, pain, and loss of taste. Only 21 (91.3%) patients were asymptomatic at 3 months of follow-up., Conclusions: Short-term topical application of the aspirin-ethanol mixture was shown to be effective in treating symptomatic geographic tongue., Competing Interests: None., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)