Malignant transformation in the course of a dentigerous cyst: a problem for a clinician and a pathologist. Considerations based on a case report.

Primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma (PIOSCC) is a rarely reported neoplasm resulting from malignant transformation of a dentigerous cyst of the mandible or maxilla. Until 2010, only 116 cases had been described. The diagnosis of PIOSCC is difficult because of non-specific symptoms. A case of a 66-year-old patient with PIOSCC arising from a dentigerous cyst of the mandible is presented. Both pathologists and clinicians should be aware of the probability of malignant transformation of dentigerous cysts during the two-stage treatment. The patient should be subject to regular clinical and radiographic examination.

Value of the ViziLite Plus System as a diagnostic aid in the early detection of oral cancer/premalignant epithelial lesions.

The aim of the study was to assess the value of the chemiluminescent light and 1% tolonium chloride as a diagnostic aid in the early detection of oral cancer/premalignant epithelial lesions. Thirty consecutive patients with 41 visually identified oral lesions suggestive of being premalignant underwent chemiluminescence and tolonium chloride examination followed by incisional biopsy with histopathologic evaluation. The biopsies of 34 lesions (82.92%) revealed no dysplasia, 3 lesions (7.32%) revealed mild dysplasia, 3 lesions (7.32%) demonstrated severe dysplasia, and 1 lesion (2.44%) was malignant (squamous cell carcinoma). The chemiluminescent examination improved the brightness (58.54% of the cases), sharpness (56.1% of the cases), texture (60.98% of the cases), and size of the lesion (53.66% of the cases). With references to serious pathologies, 7 cases (100.0%) were brighter, and size was more visualized in 6 cases (85.71%) when using chemiluminescence examination than under incandescent light. Twenty-five (73.53%) of nonserious pathology and 7 (100.0%) of serious pathology (6 dysplasias, 1 squamous cell carcinoma) were positively stained by toluidine blue. Three (8.82%) of nonserious pathology and 0 (0.0%) of serious pathology lesions were identified as true negatives when toluidine blue staining was used. The overall toluidine blue sensitivity and specificity were 81.8% and 37.5%, respectively. Chemiluminescent light demonstrates better visualization (brightness, size) of serious pathology lesions in comparison with conventional clinical oral examination under incandescent light. Toluidine blue demonstrates 100% sensitivity in staining serious pathology. The ViziLite Plus system may help the practitioner to visualize oral pathologies that are not readily detectable with conventional incandescent lighting.

Should dental treatment be considered for lowering inflammatory markers in hypertensive patients?

BACKGROUND: While dental treatment has been reported to lower inflammatory marker levels, such studies were small and did not involve subjects with cardiovascular diseases. The present prospective study examined the effect of interventional dental treatment on serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen levels in patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: The study enrolled 50 subjects (age: 53.1+/-7; 23 men and 27 women) diagnosed with moderate or severe essential hypertension. Patient clinical characteristics were as follows: 80% had hypercholesterolemia, 72% were obese/overweight, 6% had diabetes mellitus, 16% were current smokers, 40% had target organ damage, and the overall general dental health status was poor. CRP and fibrinogen levels were assessed prior to treatment and again after 6 months. Dental treatment was mainly for periodontal disease and dental caries and its complications, and consisted of extractions of hopeless teeth, supragingival scaling, subgingival curettage, anti-inflammatory rinses and metronidazole treatment. There was a mean 4 treatment sessions per patient over 11 weeks. RESULTS: Dental treatment resulted in improved sulcus bleeding index (51+/-19 vs. 42+/-17, p<0.001) and approximal plaque index (50+/-23 vs. 42+/-13, p<0.001) scores, but had no effect on CRP (1.66 vs. 1.2 mg/l, p=0.44) or fibrinogen (3.27 vs. 3.22 g/l, p=0.08) levels. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the lack of effect of dental treatment on CRP and fibrinogen levels could have resulted from smaller impact of dental disease on the total inflammatory burden in the presence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors.