The future of oral pathology practice.

Oral and maxillofacial pathology (OMP) may be viewed as a specialty of dentistry, which addresses the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the oral and perioral regions. Consensus definitions may be found in the accreditation standards for OMP as published by the American Dental Association, and in the Constitution and Bylaws of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (AAOMP). These sources describe roles for OMP in laboratory diagnosis (histopathology), and clinical practice. Eversole recognizes these divisions of OMP in his discussion of evidence-based practice, noting that oral medicine shares with OMP responsibilities in the care of patients with oral disease. Broadly viewed, all clinical disciplines and specialties of dentistry provide services in disease diagnosis and treatment. However, Eversole makes a distinction between the diagnostic and treatment services provided throughout dentistry, and those offered by OMP, excluding from OMP those primarily focused on dental caries, diseases of the periodontium, missing teeth and tooth structure, and dental misalignment. The focus of this essay addresses the future of OMP practice.

Induced elephant (Loxodonta africana) tusk removal.

Elephant tusk removal usually requires costly surgical procedures that are time-consuming and present a significant risk to the animal when performed using general anesthesia. Such techniques require gauges, chisels, and forceps to remove the tusk. This article reports the simple removal of the tusk of an 18-yr-old African elephant (Loxodonta africana) without the use of surgical instruments and anesthesia. Rubber elastics were placed around a tusk, causing loss of alveolar bone with subsequent exfoliation of the tusk within 3 wk. The healing process was uneventful.