Clinical Outline of Oral Diseases.

Oral diseases are pathologic conditions that affect oral and maxillofacial tissues. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the most common forms of oral diseases, but there are a wide variety of diseases that can occur in oral and maxillofacial tissues. These oral diseases range from metabolic, inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, autoimmune, developmental, to idiopathic origin.

Proposed Clinico-Pathological Classification for Oral Exophytic Lesions.

Oral exophytic lesions often have proven to be diagnostically challenging due to the varied clinical presentation. The exophytic growth of the oral lesions is due to the type of pathology and histological changes. Careful clinical interpretation with a better histological understanding of exophytic lesions may ease the diagnosis from the differential diagnosis panel.

Preterm low birth weight and periodontal disease among African Americans.

African Americans consistently experience higher rates of preterm and low birth weight (LBW) deliveries than do whites. LBW and preterm infants are more likely to die before their first birthday and survivors may suffer from a number of health problems. Therefore, identification of modifiable risk factors for preterm deliveries and LBW has considerable public health significance.

Periodontal Infection as a Possible Risk Factor for Preterm Low Birth Weight.

Periodontal diseases are Gram-negative anaerobic infections that can occur in women of childbearing age (18 to 34 years). In the present investigation we sought to determine whether the prevalence of maternal periodontal infection could be associated with preterm low birth weight (PLBW), controlling for known risk factors and potential covariates. A case-control study of 124 pregnant or postpartum mothers was performed.