Fibrous dysplasia--a 13-year retrospective radiographic analysis in a south Indian population.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the clinical and radiographic presentation of fibrous dysplasia through a 13-year retrospective study in patients who reported to the outpatient unit of Government Dental College, Trivandrum. METHODS: The clinical file records and radiographs of the patients who reported to the outpatient clinic in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology were retrospectively reviewed for histopathologically diagnosed fibrous dysplasia. A detailed analysis of the clinical and radiographic features of the 24 cases retrieved was carried out. RESULTS: The male-to-female ratio of incidence was approximately 1:1. Most of the patients were in the second or third decade of life. Almost all the patients presented with a complaint of swelling on the side of the face. The mandible was more frequently involved than the maxilla. The most common radiographic pattern observed was the "ground-glass" appearance. Most of the patients exhibited expansion of the involved bone and loss of lamina dura of associated teeth. CONCLUSION: The awareness of protean features of fibrous dysplasia evident through this study is essential in the accurate diagnosis and proper treatment planning of such lesions.

Autofluorescence spectroscopy for the in vivo evaluation of oral submucous fibrosis.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to analyze the autofluorescence spectrum of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF); in order to find out whether the technique is effective for the in vivo detection of OSF and for the early detection of malignant changes in OSF. BACKGROUND: The feasibility of autofluorescence spectroscopy to detect subtle alterations in tissue architecture and biochemical composition induced by dysplasia and inflammation has been studied in the field of oral oncology. Because early detection and proper treatment of common oral precancerous conditions such as OSF and any malignant transformation are important, autofluorescence spectroscopy was applied to detect OSF in this study. METHODS: In vivo autofluorescence emission spectra were collected at excitation wavelength of 320 nm from buccal mucosa from patients grouped as normal, OSF, or OSF with malignancy. The emission spectra were recorded and analyzed for variations from normal spectra with respect to spectral profile and intensity. RESULTS: The emission spectrum of OSF had a significantly higher emission peak around 380 nm and 460 nm when compared with the normal mucosal spectrum. The carcinoma spectrum also had two peaks around 380 and 460 nm regions with reduced intensity. The spectrum of carcinoma in OSF was significantly different from spectrum of carcinoma arising from otherwise normal mucosa and also from the spectrum of normal mucosa. The difference in spectral intensities between normal, OSF, and carcinoma in OSF was found to be highly significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Autofluorescence spectroscopy has been proved to be a promising technique that can successfully differentiate precancerous and cancerous changes from normal mucosa. The spectra from each group studied (normal mucosa, OSF, and OSF with carcinoma) showed distinct features that made it possible to differentiate OSF from normal mucosa and also to detect malignant changes in OSF noninvasively and in real time.