Maxillary anterior teeth dimensions and proportions in a central mainland chinese population.

OBJECTIVES: To obtain maxillary anterior tooth dimension and proportion values for the Central Chinese population and to evaluate the existence of sexual dimorphism, any consistent relationships between the tooth ratios, and the presence of golden proportions. METHODS: Tooth dimensions and proportions of six maxillary anterior teeth were recorded on gypsum casts obtained from 147 subjects (82 women and 65 men). Of these, 115 casts were digitally photographed in a standardised manner and apparent width values for six maxillary anterior teeth were recorded for golden proportion analysis. Existence of sexual dimorphism, any consistent width/height ratio and golden proportions were statistically analysed. One-sample t-test, two-sample t-test, and paired t-test were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between measurements on the right and left side. Sexual dimorphism existed for various tooth dimensions. There was no statistically significant difference for width/height ratios between the two genders for central incisor and lateral incisor. However, canines showed a statistically significant difference. The golden proportion guideline was not applicable for this population. CONCLUSION: The maxillary anterior teeth dimensions were significantly greater for men than women; however, the mean difference was small (< 0.2 mm) and may not be clinically significant. The golden proportion, or any recurring anterior teeth proportions, was not found for the population. There was a significant difference in width/height ratio of canines between the genders, confirming its greatest gender-based morphological difference.

Increased expression of galectin-1 is associated with human oral squamous cell carcinoma development.

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is a newly found immunoregulatory carbohydrate-binding protein in cancer biology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Gal-1 on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) development. Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and RT-PCR were carried out in 62 primary OSCC, 38 oral leukoplakia (OPL) tissues to detect the Gal-1 expression in both protein and mRNA levels. Ten normal oral mucosa (NOM) tissues were used as control. Gal-1 protein was significantly overexpressed in OSCC cancer cells and OPL prickle cells compared to NOM (P<0.05). In accordance with Gal-1 protein, Gal-1 mRNA was also up-regulated in OSCC tissues and OPL tissues. Furthermore, both the Gal-1 protein and mRNA in OSCC tissues were higher than in OPL tissues (P<0.05). Our data supports the important roles of Gal-1 in OSCC development and suggests that Gal-1 upregulation in the OSCC and OPL tissues might be a predictor of early oral carcinogenesis.