Evaluation of traumatic dental injuries in a group of Turkish population.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are significant clinical problems that may have complex etiologies and may cause physical and physiological impairment. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of TDIs in a group of Turkish subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The prevalence of TDIs and the pattern of traumatized teeth were studied in relation to age, gender, cause, location, and type of injury. This study was carried out to include all age groups and teeth. TDIs were recorded using the World Health Organization classification modified by Andreasen et al. RESULTS: The prevalence of TDIs was found to be 4.4% (255 injured patients/5800 presented patients), and the injuries were most commonly observed in the age group of 11-20 years. Males were more affected than females (males, 153; females, 102). The most common cause of traumatic injury was falling (68.2%), and the most common place of trauma was outdoors (56.1%). 4, 7% of patients injured because of their systemic diseases. The most frequently injured teeth were the upper central incisors (primary teeth, 64.5%; permanent teeth, 72.5%), and the most common type of dental injury was uncomplicated crown fracture in both primary (63%) and permanent dentition (47%). CONCLUSION: In the surveyed population, the prevalence of TDIs was found to be low. However, the teacher and family of adolescents and the caregivers of patients with some systemic diseases like epilepsy should be warned about TDIs.

Oral hygiene and oral flora evaluation in psychiatric patients in nursing homes in Turkey.

CONTEXT: The World Health Organization has stated that psychiatric patients are a group of people who have oral and dental illnesses. AIMS: The aims of this study were to document the oral hygiene of individuals with chronic psychiatric illness, to determine the extraoral and intraoral findings, to detect the dominant microorganisms in oral flora, and to inform clinicians of these findings. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study included 100 patients (69 men and 31 women) with different psychiatric illnesses living in a nursing home. They were 19-96 years old (median, 48 years). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The participants completed a questionnaire about patients' oral health. They underwent extraoral and intraoral examinations. Two swab samples were obtained from the oral mucosa of these patients. Gram preparations were analyzed for leukocytes, bacteria, and yeast. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Chi-square test and z-test were used. RESULTS: All patients (100%) had the necessary equipment for oral hygiene; however, many (43%) patients had poor oral hygiene. There was a high prevalence of xerostomia (56%) and fissured tongue (61.4%) (among other tongue anomalies). The most commonly isolated microorganisms were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus0 (35.9%), Streptococcus spp. (30.3%), nondiphtheroid Bacilli (16.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.3%), Candida spp. (11.8%), and Gram-negative Bacilli (2.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The oral hygiene of most patients was insufficient. The presence of Gram-negative Bacilli growth in the oral flora can be explained by poor hand hygiene. These findings suggest that it is useful to educate individuals about oral hygiene and hand hygiene and to inform the staff and families about this issue.

Primary double teeth and their effect on permanent successors.

AIM: Understanding the effects of primary double tooth (PDT) on permanent successors is important to ensure healthy permanent occlusion and aesthetics. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and type of PDT, their effect on permanent successors, and the accompanying dental anomalies/pathologies in a Turkish population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study design: The records of 63 PDTs in 54 healthy Caucasian children among 10,000 patients were investigated. PDTs were classified according to Aguilo's classification. RESULTS: The prevalence of PDT was 0.6%. Of the 63 PDTs, 14.3% were type I, 11.1% were type II, 31.7% were type III, and 41.3% were type IV; one (1.6%) was a triple tooth. Aplasia of the permanent lateral incisor was observed most frequently in association with type I (56%) PDT. All PDTs associated with a supernumerary permanent tooth were type IV. Dental anomalies/pathologies such as odontoma, talon cusp were observed. Caries involvement was observed most frequently in type IV (58.3%) PDT. STATISTICS: The chi-squared test was used to determine whether successor aplasia depended on PDT type, and contingency coefficients (%) were calculated to determine the degree of association between aplasia and PDT type. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should assess PDT clinically and radiographically to determine whether they are associated with aplasia of permanent lateral incisors (type I) or supernumerary permanent teeth (type IV). Type IV of PDT should be sealed with sealant or resin.

An accidentally ingested mandibular prosthesis was exempt from surgery.

Removable dentures are commonly used in routine dental practice at older ages. Accidental swallowing of various numbers of teeth has been reported in the literature before. However, total swallowing of removable mandibular prostheses in this size is a very rare emergency. In this study, we reported a case of accidental ingestion of a partially removable mandibular prosthesis and its final passing through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract without complication without need for surgical intervention. With this case we also aimed to increase the awareness of health professionals of the potential risk and management of swallowing dentures.

Oral findings in a typical case of achondroplasia.

We report a 16-year-old boy who had all the typical manifestations of achondroplasia but also had a skeletal and dental class III malocclusion, a narrow maxilla, macroglossia and an open bite between the posterior teeth. The narrow maxilla and bilateral cross-bite were treated with rapid palatal expansion. The open bite and irregular teeth were corrected with fixed orthodontic treatment, taking account of the macroglossia. This case is of clinical interest since dental class III malocclusion, posterior open bite, macroglossia and benign migratory glossitis have not previously been reported in achondroplasia.

Oral nodular fasciitis: a case report.

Nodular fasciitis of the cheek is an extremely rare lesion of the oral cavity. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of swellings in the oral mucosa. We describe a case of nodular fasciitis and discuss the difficulties of histological and clinical diagnosis of this condition.

Aplasia of the mandibular condyle associated with some orthopaedic abnormalities.

A rare case of aplasia of mandibular condyle associated with some other orthopaedic problems is presented. A 5-year-old boy attended our clinic with a chief complaint of facial asymmetry and chewing difficulty. The mandible was deviated to the left. The occlusion also showed a deflection to the left of the mandibular midline. He also had walking difficulty owing to a hip abnormality. Panoramic radiographic examination of the patient revealed that the left mandibular condyl was totally absent. The right condyle was unremarkable. His history revealed neither trauma nor any significant disease. Aplasia is a rare anomaly and means the insufficient development of the mandibular condyle. True agnesis of the mandibular condyle is extremely rare. Association of the manifestations of the patient with some orthopaedic problems makes this case interesting.

Ultrasonography and Doppler ultrasonography in the evaluation of intraosseous lesions of the jaws.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasonography and colour and power Doppler ultrasonography for diagnosis of intraosseous lesions of the jaws and to correlate the contents of the lesion with the histological findings. METHODS: This study included 20 patients referred to the oral surgery clinic for treatment. All patients had intraosseous jaw lesions in the maxilla or mandible. Ultrasonographic examinations were performed and, according to the ultrasonography findings, the jaw lesions were classified into three groups: cystic, semisolid and solid. Additionally, colour and power Doppler ultrasonography examinations were performed to evaluate blood flow in all patients. After the ultrasonography examination, the patients underwent surgical treatment. The correlation between ultrasonography and Doppler ultrasonography findings of the lesions and histological findings was investigated. RESULTS: 22 lesions were identified in 20 patients. Of the five lesions with histological findings of inflammatory granulation tissue, ultrasonography identified four of them that showed a solid appearance. Vascularization was detected in both internal and external areas of these lesions with colour and power Doppler ultrasonography. Of the 17 odontogenic cystic lesions, the ultrasonography examination showed a simple cystic appearance in 5 lesions, a complex cystic appearance in 3 lesions, a semisolid appearance in 6 lesions and a solid appearance in 1 lesion. Two lesions were inconclusive on ultrasonographic examination. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography can provide accurate information on the content of intraosseous lesions of the jaws before any surgical procedure. Additionally, Doppler ultrasound can show vascularization of the lesion. However, there was no correlation between the ultrasound findings and the definitive histological diagnosis.

Relationship of mandibular and cervical vertebral bone density using computed tomography.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to compare mandibular and cervical vertebral bone density (BD) using CT. METHODS: Cervical CT images from 114 patients (46 women, 68 men; mean age 49 years) with various clinical symptoms (e.g. headache, vertigo and imbalance) were included in this study. The mandibular and cervical vertebral BD measurements, expressed in Hounsfield units, were performed by the same investigator on these sections. RESULTS: The relationship between cervical vertebral and mandibular BD was revealed by regression and with correlation analysis. The correlation coefficient was r = 0.269, r(2) = 0.07, P = 0.004, which is statistically significant because of the high number of patients. However, the r(2) was very small, indicating that the power of the relationship is low. The distribution diagrams of the cervical vertebrae and mandible BD between female and male patients were similar. The relationship between age and mandibular BD was very weak (r = 0.033, r(2) = 0.009, P = 0.726); the relationship between age and cervical vertebrae BD was also negatively correlated (r = -0.354, r(2) = 0.13, P = 0.0001). This finding indicates that there is a statistical significance, but that the strength of the relationship is weak (r(2) = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: There was a correlation between skeletal and mandibular BD, but the strength of the relationship is low. Mandibular BD for both men and women did not correlate with age; cervical vertebral BD did correlate with age.

Tracheomegaly in association with rheumatoid arthritis.

Herein we present a case of tracheomegaly seen in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. To the authors' knowledge, and from a review of the literature, this combination has not been previously described.