Incidence, aetiology, morphology, histology and symptoms of natal or neonatal teeth are presented. The commonly used terminology natal and neonatal teeth is adopted in this article. A case of an 8-week old girl with natal tooth and sublingual ulceration of the tip of the tongue is described.
Eighty-eight (1.96%) out of 4,500 patients had teeth stained by tetracycline. The majority had yellowish-brown stains (59.1%), whilst 37.5% had greyish-brown and 3.4% had black stains. A large number of teeth (79.6%) were stained up to two-thirds of their crowns. The deciduous teeth, permanent incisors and first molars were most commonly affected (73.9%). Teeth are only stained by tetracycline if this drug is administered during their calcification periods. For aesthetic reason, the drug should not be prescribed from the fourth month of pregnancy till the seventh year of life. The social embarrasment due to such discolouration may be overcome by tooth bleaching and construction of tooth facings and crowns.
A case of actinomycosis occurring four years after the surgical removal of an impacted lower third molar is presented. The need for careful wound debridement and the use of antibiotics as a prophylactic measure is emphasized.
Burkitt's lymphoma is a tumour that most often affects the jaws, especially in endemic areas of Africa. In non-endemic areas, the jaws are affected in about 15-18% of cases. A case is presented which demonstrates the significance of jaw lesions in the disease. The history and pathogenesis of the disease also are discussed.
Delayed replantation of an avulsed tooth with an open apex resulted in failure of revascularization, necrosis of the pulp and extensive external root resorption. Removal of the necrotic pulp and repeated intra-canal dressings of calcium hydroxide over a three year period arrested the inflammatory resorptive process. The process was replaced by replacement resorption leading to ankylosis and infra-occlusion of the affected tooth. As the tooth was asymptomatic, it was retained in the arch to act as a space maintainer. To improve aesthetics, the crown was recontoured using a light-cured resin.
A case of an incomplete tooth fracture followed by a complete fracture was presented. The difficulty of diagnosing this condition was discussed as well as the possible histological explanation of the symptoms experienced by the patient. It once again points out to practising dentists, that whilst deep pockets can give rise to severe periodontal pain, intense and excruciating pain should be investigated with the cracked tooth in mind.
Although the patterns of dental disease is gradually changing, caries and periodontal disease still account for the most important reason for extractions in most countries. However their relative contributions towards overall tooth mortality figures varies. The aim of this study is to investigate the types of teeth usually associated with extractions due to caries or periodontal disease and its relation to the age at which the tooth was lost. The highest proportion of extractions due to caries occurred between 21 to 30 years of age while that for periodontal disease occurred between 41 to 50 years. For caries, the greatest proportion of extractions involved the posterior teeth. The most frequently extracted teeth due to caries are the molars, in particular the first permanent molar. However, for periodontal disease a slightly greater proportion of anterior teeth were lost than the posteriors. This trend is more marked in the lower jaw than the upper. Overall, extractions related to caries tend to increase posteriorly, while that for periodontal disease tend to increase anteriorly.
An important relationship should exist between the periodontist and restorative dentist. Periodontics and restorative dentistry should not be divisible and all forms of restorations, from a simple filling to a complex precision-retained bridge, should be performed with the health and biology of the periodontium in mind. A very crucial concept which should be borne in the mind of every restorative dentist is the concept of biologic width.
Matched MeSH terms: Tooth Eruption; Tooth Movement
The reasons underlying the need for extraction of 2765 permanent teeth carried out over a 6 month period in the Out-patient Clinic in the Dental Faculty, University of Malaya, was investigated. The present study showed that dental caries (67.4%) is the leading cause for extraction followed by periodontal disease (19.6%). Caries accounted for the highest proportion of extractions up to the age of 50 whereas periodontal disease becomes the major factor beyond this age. The highest frequency of extractions carried out was between the ages of 21-30.
Matched MeSH terms: Tooth Extraction/statistics & numerical data
A case of extreme distal migration of the left maxillary canine is reported. The canine had erupted buccal to the contact area between the left second premolar and first molar. Past reports of similar ectopia are reviewed.
Multiple supernumerary teeth without any associated systemic conditions or syndromes are not common. The author reviewed most of the cases reported in the English-language literature from 1969 to the present. It was found that there was a predilection of non-syndrome multiple supernumerary teeth to occur in the mandible. When analyzed according to specific sites for both jaws, there was a predominance of the multiple supernumerary teeth to occur in the premolar area, followed by the molar and the anterior regions respectively. The mandibular premolar region had the highest frequency of occurrence for both jaws combined.
This is a review of the literature concerning wear related to the following materials used in dentistry: dental amalgam, composite resins, and glass-ionomer cements, as well as natural tooth substance. Discussions are included on both in vivo and in vitro studies in which various methods were used to help determine wear resistance.
A total of 537 dentate adults from nine randomly selected government dental centers in three states in Malaysia were interviewed to assess their preference for either exodontia or preservation of teeth when they experience toothache, or have carious anterior or posterior teeth. The assumptions tested were i) patients prefer exodontia rather than preservation when they have toothache, and ii) patients are more willing to have posterior teeth extracted than anterior teeth for caries. Both these assumptions were rejected. Even though the majority of the subjects preferred preservation (59%) when having toothache, exodontia was the treatment of choice in a large proportion of subjects (41%). Significant differences in preference were found among the various ethnic, educational, income, and age groups. However, when ethnicity was held constant, binary regression indicated that the variations observed were determined by education, income, and age groups and not by ethnicity.