Many large tissue defects occur with surgery treatments of tumors in the maxillofacial region. Maxillofacial prosthesis application can be used as an alternative treatment for cases where plastic surgery reconstructions cannot be applied. While the retention of maxillofacial prostheses used to be provided generally via adhesive bands, adhesives in liquid or spray form, and tissue undercuts, the current treatment of an intra-oral edentulous condition is frequently conducted via osseo-integrated implants.

Background and Objective: Saliva is a critical fluid necessary for oral health. Xerostomia and salivary gland hypofunctioning are associated with advancing age, autoimmune diseases, head and neck radiation, smoking and recreational drug usage. Palliative management of xerostomia includes wetting agents such as ice chips, saliva substitutes, increased water intake, applying lip balm, chewing sugar free gum or sucking sour sugar-free lemon drops, paraffin, and citric acid containing lozenges and rinses. Systemic agents stimulate the salivary flow but have unfavourable side effects. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on the whole salivary flow rate in healthy adult subjects. Study Design: Seventy three healthy adult subjects with no history of salivary gland disorder were enrolled in the protocol. TENS electrode pads were placed externally on the skin overlying the major salivary glands. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected for 5 minutes into a graduated test tube. The TENS unit was then activated and stimulated saliva was collected for another 5 minutes in a separate graduated test tube. Results: Sixty nine out of seventy three demonstrated increased whole salivary flow when stimulated via TENS unit. Four subjects showed a decrease in the salivary flow. The mean unstimulated salivary flow rate was 0.479±0.152 ml/min while under stimulated condition it was 0.724±0.189 ml/min, thereby showing a percentage increment of 51.1% following TENS application. Statistical analysis of flow rates showed the difference to be significant (p<0.001) Conclusion: The TENS unit was highly effective in stimulating the whole salivary flow rate in healthy adult subjects. A further study in patients with xerostomia secondary to various local and systemic causes is required.

Thrombophilia causes venous thrombosis predominantly, sometimes arterial thrombosis in susceptible individuals causing increased morbidity and mortality. Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is the commonest complication resulting from thrombophilia in young patients that can lead to diagnostic confusion. The treatment is either replacement therapy with prothrombotic factors that are deficient or anti coagulants if CVT occurs. Here we present some interesting three cases of CVT admitted and treated in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T-cell-mediated chronic inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa. It has been considered by many authors as a premalignant condition. In some reported cases, there is lack of clinical and histological data leading to a wrong estimation of its malignant potential. We report the case of a 74-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with erosive OLP extending over gingiva, labial and buccal mucosa with absence of known exogenous carcinogens. Six years after, verrucous lesion appeared on labial lesion. Topical antifungal treatment was initially prescribed to treat a deep candida infection. Then, a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. Radiological examination confirmed absence of lymph nodes or metastatic lesion. Total surgical excision was performed with respect of carcinologic resection margins. Neither local recurrence nor second primary tumor was noted during 5 years of follow-up. The present case supports the view that OLP may undergo malignant transformation, and that this does not require exogenous carcinogens. It highlights the necessity of correct record of clinical, histological and treatment details to make possible and reliable the diagnosis of OLP malignant transformation. There is still a need of close follow-up of OLP and lichenoid lesion patients especially when having associated other carcinogenic risk factors.

Introduction: The Internet has revolutionized the way information is shared and accessed. Information retrieval is easier now than ever before due to drastic increase in rise of modern search engines. One important domain in which the Internet plays an increasing role is health information access. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 200 medical and 200 dental practitioners in Hyderabad. A pretested structured 15 item questionnaire was used to collect the data. Chi square test was used to assess the difference in internet usage among medical and dental practitioners. Results: Mean age of the practitioners was 37 years and majority of them were males. 76% dental practitioners use internet for getting updated about new materials and techniques.78% of medical practitioners used internet to get updated about the recent advances in treatment procedures. Conclusion: There is a significant difference in the usage of internet among medical and dental practitioners.