Oral pathology and oral medicine in Latin American countries: current stage.

BACKGROUND: Oral Pathology (OP) and Oral Medicine (OM) are specialties in dentistry whose main objective is the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial diseases, and aspects related to the academic training of professionals and fields of practice are distinct and heterogeneous around the world. This study aimed to evaluate professional training and areas of activity in OP and OM in Latin American countries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 11 countries, with a professional in each country responsible for answering it. The questionnaire had 21 questions related to the process of professional training, areas of practice, the existence of scientific events in each country, and also collected demographic and population information. RESULTS: OP and OM are practiced in all the countries studied, but the specialty is not recognized in all of them. Brazil was the first to recognize both as a specialty. Postgraduate programs designed to train specialists are available in various countries. Two countries offer residency programs, 6 countries provide specialization courses, 6 offer master's programs, and 3 have doctoral programs. Brazil boasts the highest number of undergraduate courses (n=412), while Uruguay has the lowest (n=2). Professional societies representing the specialty exist in ten countries. Brazil has the highest number of OP and OM specialists (n=422 and 1,072), while Paraguay has the smallest number (n=1 and 3). CONCLUSIONS: Although both specialties are widely practiced around the globe, professional training, the number of dentists trained and the fields of professional practice are very different between the countries studied.

Inestabilidad de la columna lumbosacra; (su tratamiento con la artrodesis por vía anterior)

El concepto de estabilidad del sector lumbrosaco está fundado en la correcta alineación que en la estación de pie mantienen los cuerpos vertebrales con el sacro, relación que dimana fundamentalmente por un lado del papel que juegan los discos intervertebrales en la estática de la columna y por el otro del llamado ángulo lumbosacro. La alteración más allá de ciertos límites de esa alineación es uno de los principales factores del síndrome de inestabilidad que ocupa a los autores dentro del cual se distinguen dos tipos de modalidades fundamentales, ambos de diagnóstico exclusivamente radiológicos en posiciones especiales. Se estudian los aspectos radiológicos de la inestabilidad tipo Knutsson y Ferguson como expresión discopatías, aumento del ángulo lumbosacro y las soluciones de continuidad de la "parst interarticularis" (AU)