Role of Toothbrushes as Gene Expression Profiling Tool for Oral Cancer Screening in Tobacco and Alcohol Users.

AIM: The use of toothbrushes was investigated as a potential RNA source and gene expression profiling tool for oral cancer screening in tobacco and alcohol users. METHODOLOGY: A total of 20 subjects were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were divided into two groups: group I-healthy controls (n = 6); group II-individuals who consume tobacco and alcohol (n = 14). After the volunteers brushed their teeth using a soft-bristle toothbrush with ~0.5 gm of toothpaste, the toothbrushes were collected, and the gene expression of BAX, BCL2, CDK4, CKDN2A, GNB3, and TCF7L2 was assessed. RESULTS: The gene expression of BAX decreased significantly in alcoholics and smokers (0.13867 ± 0.12014), while the gene expression of BCL2 increased in alcoholics and smokers (1.91001 ± 0.90425) in comparison with healthy controls (p = 0.0054 and p = 0.0055). Although there was increased expression of CDK4, CKDN2A, and TCF7L2 and decreased expression of GNB3 in smokers and alcoholics, the results were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: A toothbrush is a good source of RNA, and gene expression analysis can be performed using the genetic material retrieved from toothbrushes, which can aid in the early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma among tobacco and alcohol users. Further studies with a larger sample size and different durations of toothbrush use should be conducted to explore the role of toothbrushes as a noninvasive tool for disease diagnosis.

Ensemble Deep-Learning-Based Prognostic and Prediction for Recurrence of Sporadic Odontogenic Keratocysts on Hematoxylin and Eosin Stained Pathological Images of Incisional Biopsies.

(1) Background: Odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs) are enigmatic developmental cysts that deserve special attention due to their heterogeneous appearance in histopathological characteristics and high recurrence rate. Despite several nomenclatures for classification, clinicians still confront challenges in its diagnosis and predicting its recurrence. This paper proposes an ensemble deep-learning-based prognostic and prediction algorithm, for the recurrence of sporadic odontogenic keratocysts, on hematoxylin and eosin stained pathological images of incisional biopsies before treatment. (2) Materials and Methods: In this study, we applied a deep-learning algorithm to an ensemble approach integrated with DenseNet-121, Inception-V3, and Inception-Resnet-V3 classifiers. Around 1660 hematoxylin and eosin stained pathologically annotated digital images of OKC-diagnosed (60) patients were supplied to train and predict recurrent OKCs. (3) Results: The presence of SEH (p = 0.004), an incomplete epithelial lining, (p = 0.023), and a corrugated surface (p = 0.049) were the most significant histological parameters distinguishing recurrent and non-recurrent OKCs. Amongst the classifiers, DenseNet-121 showed 93% accuracy in predicting recurrent OKCs. Furthermore, integrating and training the traditional ensemble model showed an accuracy of 95% and an AUC of 0.9872, with an execution time of 192.9 s. In comparison, our proposed model showed 97% accuracy with an execution time of 154.6 s. (4) Conclusions: Considering the outcome of our novel ensemble model, based on accuracy and execution time, the presented design could be embedded into a computer-aided design system for automation of risk stratification of odontogenic keratocysts.

Talon cusp: report of five cases.

Talon cusp is a rare phenomenon found on the lingual surfaces of anterior teeth. Five cases of talon cusp that were observed during routine clinical examination are described.

The functional treatment of anterior-open bite: three case reports.

Functional treatment of three skeletal open-bite patients with Bionator, Frankel IV and Posterior bite-block appliances is presented. Pretreatment and post treatment records were evaluated. Correction of malocclusion by changing direction of the mandibular development, adaptive bony development of the condyle, vertical development in posterior region, an increase in ramus length, a decrease in the lower facial height were observed in this report. The results of functional treatment of three appliances had different effect mechanisms.

Importance of the detection of amoebic antigens in stool samples for the diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica infection, among children in southern Turkey.

Entamoeba histolytica is the predominant causative agent of human amoebiasis, a significant and common diarrhoeal disease among children of developing countries. Diagnosis of this illness by the microscopical detection of the parasites in stool samples is insensitive and often incapable of differentiating the pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica from the commensal parasite E. dispar. In this study, the results of testing stool samples in an ELISA, based on a monoclonal antibody, that detects E. histolytica-specific galactose adhesin were compared against the results of the microscopical examination of the same samples. The samples investigated came from 131 children (aged<15 years) with diarrhoea, who lived in the provinces of Adana and Mersin, in southern Turkey. Overall 22 cases of E. histolytica infection, including eight that appeared negative by microscopy, were detected using the ELISA. The 16 patients considered positive for E. histolytica/E. dispar by microscopy included two who were ELISA-negative. With the ELISA results used as the 'gold standard', and assuming that all the E. histolytica/E. dispar cysts seen by microscopy were E. histolytica, microscopy had a specificity of 98.2%, a positive predictive value of 87.5% and a negative predictive value of 93.1% but a sensitivity of only 63.6%. Compared with microscopy, culture and PCR-based assays, the antigen-detection ELISA appears to be easier, faster and probably more cost-effective, with high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values.

Skeletal and dental changes after maxillary expansion in the mixed dentition.

The purpose of this study was to compare skeletal and dental aspects of three different expansion methods in the mixed dentition period in sagittal, vertical, and transversal planes, treatment periods, complications, and relapse tendencies in early periods. Patients with unilateral or bilateral posterior crossbites in the mixed dentition were studied. They were divided into three groups of 10 patients in each group. The first group received treatment with removable plates for semirapid maxillary expansion; the second group with quad-helix appliances for slow maxillary expansion; and the third group with conventional fixed hyrax appliances for rapid maxillary expansion (RME). Lateral and posteroanterior cephalometric films, occlusal films, and dental casts were taken before and after expansion, and after retention with the same appliances. Cephalometric and dental cast analyses were made. Both skeletal and dental changes were observed after all three expansion methods.