Nidarsh D Hegde

Vertical root fractures: Review and case report

Vertical root fractures, or VRFs, usually are characterized by an incomplete or complete fracture line that extends through the long axis of the root toward the apex. The cause of VRFs is mainly trauma and iatrogenic reasons. Complete or incomplete VRFs constitute an ongoing problem in dentistry because they are difficult to be diagnosed in the early stages. In most cases, tooth extraction is the only reasonable treatment when the VRF is finally diagnosed. Other options have been put forward such as bonding the two fractured segments and reimplanting the tooth. A similar case has been described here.

Laser induced biostimulation: A possible healing prospect in endo-perio lesion

The health of the tooth is governed by both endodontic tissue and periodontal apparatus. Endo-perio lesion is the term used to describe the lesions in which inflammatory products involves both pulpal and periodontal tissues in varying degrees. The disease of endodontium may lead to the involvement of the periodontium and vice versa. Endo-perio lesions are the clinical conditions that are often difficult to diagnose and persistent if not treated appropriately. Lasers have been used successfully in endodontic as well as periodontal procedures. With endodontic treatment alone, only part of the lesion will heal to the level of the secondary periodontal lesion. Overall prognosis depends upon the severity of periodontal damage and the efficacy of the periodontal treatment. Laser can be considered as an efficacious tool and an adjunct to conventional periodontal therapy both for its decontaminating and biostimulating effects.

An Insight on salivary biomarkers for oral Cancer

Oral cancer is one of the major public health concerns with 1-2% of all types of cancers worldwide. The 90% of oral cancer issues have been increased due to smoking and alcohol consumption all over the world. The major hindrance is that the most of the oral cancer patients undergo diagnosis at the advanced clinical stages, i.e., III and IV stages. Due to the delayed diagnosis, the morbidity rate is potentially high with minimum of 5 year survival rate in 20-25% of the patients. Cancerous tumors exhibit various biological characteristics at the most similar stages of development because of which detection of cancer hits a lag. Hence, there is an utmost need for the development of effective biological markers that can diagnose the condition at earlier stages. This paper is a review giving details on the biomarkers available for oral cancer diagnosis through noninvasive approach using saliva.

Postsurgical consequences in lower third molar surgical extraction using micromotor and piezosurgery

Background: One of the most critical and crucial steps in surgical extraction is cutting the bone or osteotomy, for which many techniques are used, e.g., chisels and mallet, rotary instruments, and ultrasound bone-cutting instruments. If they are not used judiciously, they can be hazardous. Objectives: To assess the efficiency of piezosurgery unit over micromotor while performing surgical extraction of lower third molars by assessing the time taken for the surgery and measuring postoperative parameters such as pain, trismus, and swelling. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients having bilateral impacted third molars with the same difficulty index were selected for the study. One side surgical removal was done using micromotor and other side by piezosurgery with an interval of 15 days. After each surgery, time taken to finish was measured and patients were followed up on postoperative days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 15 for assessing pain, trismus, and swelling. Data obtained were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean time taken for the micromotor group is 37.90 min whereas by the piezosurgery group is 54.63 min, showing a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there is statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) in the level of pain, trismus, and swelling on postoperative days 1, 3, 5, and 7. Even the intragroup comparison of piezosurgical group for trismus and swelling showed no statistically significant difference on postoperative day 7, indicating faster recovery of trismus and swelling. On postoperative day 15, there was no difference in any parameter in both groups indicating complete symptom-free recovery in both groups. Conclusion: It takes more time to perform surgical extraction of third molars when piezosurgical unit is used. Despite that, it causes less pain postoperatively with faster improvement in trismus and quicker reduction in swelling.

Gummy Smile Correction: Case Report

In the modern day practice of dentistry, it is no longer acceptable to revive single teeth. Patients anticipate a final appearance which is not only physiologically and mechanically sound but also aesthetically pleasing. A gummy smile poses a restorative challenge for dentists attempting to achieve ideal aesthetics. Also, excessive gingival display space is a major concern for a large number of patients visiting the dentist. Cosmetically acceptable smiles show a gingival display of up to 3 mm. Gingival display of greater than 3 mm results in a gummy smile which is often unsightly for the individual and correction is sought. However with the advances in cosmetic dentistry; bleaching, bonding, veneering and laminates have opened doors to a wide variety of elective dental treatments to enhance aesthetic appearance , often reversing the visual signs of aging. A case is reported here on the cosmetic correction of gummy smile wherein periodontal plastic surgery for esthetic crown lengthening was performed in a single appointment using a diode laser and the teeth were restored with laminates for aesthetic enhancement.