RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Dental hard tissue is among the hardest tissue of humans because it contains high amounts of inorganic substances. This leads to difficulty in preparing histological sections for histopathological examination. Acid and chelating agents are generally used to decalcify teeth. We aimed to compare the histological quality of teeth decalcified with various calcifying agents including 5% nitric acid, 50% formic acid with 20% sodium citrate (Anna Morse solution), 10% formic acid, commercial solution, and 14.4% neutral EDTA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Freshly extracted premolar teeth were fixed and submitted for decalcification using different agents. Histological examination was qualitatively evaluated for tissue integrity and staining quality. RESULTS: Dentin integrity of teeth decalcified with all decalcifying agents did not show any statistical differences except that with the formic acid, whereas cementum integrity decalcified with neutral EDTA showed a superior score compared with other agents. Tissue integrity and staining quality of dental pulp cells were the best decalcified with neutral EDTA or Anna Morse solution. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that EDTA and Anna Morse solution gave a similar efficiency in the preservation of tissue integrity while Anna Morse solution may be recommended as a decalcification agent in routine use due to the more satisfying decalcification time than EDTA.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There are no previously published reports on fibro-osseous jaw lesions in Thailand. The aims of this study were to determine the relative frequencies and the clinicopathologic features of these lesions in Thailand, and to compare these data with information available in the literature. METHODS: A total of 122 cases of fibro-osseous lesions of the jaws, out of a total of 4808 biopsy specimens, were collected from the files of the Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, during a 34-year period from 1973 to 2006. Clinical data and histopathologic diagnoses were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: The most common was ossifying fibroma (50.8%), followed by fibrous dysplasia (42.6%). Ossifying fibroma most frequently occurred in the third and fourth decades of life (61.3%) and mostly involved the posterior region of the mandible (41.9%). Fibrous dysplasia was mostly seen in the second decade of life (40.4%). The maxilla was involved far more often than the mandible (53.8% and 6.2%, respectively), most common in the posterior region of the maxilla (28.8%). Both lesions presented as painless swellings (62.9% and 90.4%, respectively). Radiographically, ossifying fibroma mostly was mixed radiolucent-radiopacity (45.2%). Fibrous dysplasia mostly appeared as a radiopaque lesion (34.6%). CONCLUSIONS: The relative frequency of osseous dysplasia is underestimated because most lesions are not treated and the patients are kept under long-term follow-up without biopsy. The clinicopathologic features of ossifying fibroma and fibrous dysplasia in Thailand are identical to those in the literature.
