The efficacy of Punica granatum extract gel in the treatment of symptomatic oral lichen planus in an Indian population: A clinical study.

INTRODUCTION: The autoimmune disorder, oral lichen planus (OLP), primarily affects oral mucous membranes. Current drug treatments are only palliative and have serious side effects. Pomegranate has been used as a potential herbal remedy for the treatment of OLP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study consisted of a sample size of 30 individuals who were diagnosed with symptomatic OLP based on both clinical and histological evidence and were equally assigned to Group A (4% topical Punica granatum seed extract gel, which has been customized for this particular study purpose only) and Group B (0.1% topical steroid). All patients were evaluated for the outcome criteria of pain, burning sensation, and lesion size. RESULTS: In the present study, results were highly statistically significant (P = 0.001) in intragroup observation for both Group A and Group B from baseline to the end of 30 days of follow-up for all three parameters. There was no statistically significant difference between groups for each week of follow-up. CONCLUSION: P. granatum has been used in very few studies, but this is one of the few where a gel made from P. granatum seed extract is used as an oral gel. In conclusion, it can be said that topical P. granatum extract gel is as good as topical corticosteroids at getting rid of the signs and symptoms of OLP, so it can be used as an alternative treatment.

Anatomical Variants of Condylar Process, Coronoid Process, and Sigmoid Notch in a Maharashtrian Population: A Radiographic Study.

Background The cornerstone of an individual's singularity is identification. Digital orthopantomography (OPG) helps to illustrate the varying condylar process, coronoid processes, and sigmoid notch found within a population to facilitate individual recognition. This study aims to assess the various shapes of the condylar process, coronoid process, and sigmoid notch found using OPG in a sample population of an Indian city. Methodology This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted using 1,000 good-quality digital OPG scans to evaluate the different shapes. The scans were evaluated by two experienced oral radiologists and tabulated for statistical analysis. Results The current investigation revealed varied morphological forms of the three entities, with the round shape being the most frequently observed condylar process, coronoid process, and sigmoid notch. Comparisons across sides and between sexes revealed differences in all three variables which were found to be statistically significant. We discovered a crooked finger condyle (58.56% on the left side and 41.44% on the right side), a beak-shaped coronoid process (50.0% on the left side and 50.0% on the right side), and a V-shaped sigmoid notch (41.35% on the left side and 58.65% on the right side) in this study. This is a unique finding not reported by other studies. Conclusions Analyzing the shape of the condylar process, coronoid process, and sigmoid notch found on an OPG scan can help with gender identification in forensic odontology and anthropology as these anatomical features show strong sexual dimorphism.