A glimpse of past, the temporo-buccinator band of Hovelaque, or the buccotemporal fascia of Zenker.

Only a few studies published until now have described the fascial-tendinous complex between the temporal and the buccinator muscles, which will be reviewed here. In 1957, the "temporo-buccinator band" (TBB) was described by Gaughran, who gave credit to Hovelaque for its first description in 1914. Zenker coined it in 1955 as the "buccotemporal fascia" (BTF). A buccal extension of the temporal muscle tendon extends from the temporal crest of the mandible to insert within the buccinator muscle, anterior to the pterygomandibular raphe, and posterior to the parotid duct that perforates the buccinator. That tendinous expansion is embedded within the buccotemporal fascia, which is oriented antero-infero-medially and joins the buccopharyngeal fascia, forming the TBB/BTF, above which we find the buccal fat pad. The buccal nerve and artery cross this anatomical structure. The TBB/BTF is an additional layer closing the pterygomandibular space anteriorly, and its knowledge is needed for practitioners performing inferior alveolar nerve blocks.

The unusually lower position of the mandibular foramen and the canal of the neck of mandible.

BACKGROUND: The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) courses through the mandibular foramen (MF) to enter the first segment of the mandibular canal (MC) in the mandibular ramus, to further supply with trigeminal fibers the lower teeth of that hemimandible. As the IAN also supplies the mylohyoid nerve, it is a mixed nerve. METHODS: Unusual morphologies of the mandibular ramus were encountered during a retrospective study of archived CBCT files. RESULTS: A previously unreported anatomic variation was found bilaterally in an edentulous mandible, consisting of a lowered position of the MF, with seemingly compensatory lengthening and enlargement of the sulcus colli, thus shortened MCs. Also, a rare neurovascular canal of the neck of the mandible was incidentally found unilaterally in another case and is reported here. CONCLUSIONS: Such possibilities of variation could justify the individual effect of the IAN block.

Global, Regional, and National Levels and Trends in Burden of Oral Conditions from 1990 to 2017: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2017 Study.

Government and nongovernmental organizations need national and global estimates on the descriptive epidemiology of common oral conditions for policy planning and evaluation. The aim of this component of the Global Burden of Disease study was to produce estimates on prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability for oral conditions from 1990 to 2017 by sex, age, and countries. In addition, this study reports the global socioeconomic pattern in burden of oral conditions by the standard World Bank classification of economies as well as the Global Burden of Disease Socio-demographic Index. The findings show that oral conditions remain a substantial population health challenge. Globally, there were 3.5 billion cases (95% uncertainty interval [95% UI], 3.2 to 3.7 billion) of oral conditions, of which 2.3 billion (95% UI, 2.1 to 2.5 billion) had untreated caries in permanent teeth, 796 million (95% UI, 671 to 930 million) had severe periodontitis, 532 million (95% UI, 443 to 622 million) had untreated caries in deciduous teeth, 267 million (95% UI, 235 to 300 million) had total tooth loss, and 139 million (95% UI, 133 to 146 million) had other oral conditions in 2017. Several patterns emerged when the World Bank's classification of economies and the Socio-demographic Index were used as indicators of economic development. In general, more economically developed countries have the lowest burden of untreated dental caries and severe periodontitis and the highest burden of total tooth loss. The findings offer an opportunity for policy makers to identify successful oral health strategies and strengthen them; introduce and monitor different approaches where oral diseases are increasing; plan integration of oral health in the agenda for prevention of noncommunicable diseases; and estimate the cost of providing universal coverage for dental care.