Clinical significance of buccal branches of the facial nerve and their relationship with the emergence of Stensen's duct: An anatomical study on adult Taiwanese cadavers.

Objective: This observational study on adult Taiwanese cadavers focused mainly on the intersection of buccal branches of the facial nerve with Stensen's duct, using the emergence of Stensen's duct as the reference landmark.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-five cadaveric hemifaces were included in our research. Samples with facial defects due to tumor, trauma, or surgery were all excluded.

Optimizing mandibular sagittal split of large maxillomandibular advancements for obstructive sleep apnea: patient and surgical factors.

Objectives: Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) confers consistent and high rates of surgical success for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In the era of value-based medicine, identifying factors that affect the stability of rigid fixation and allow rapid return to function are important targets for improvement. The aim of this study was to identify patient and surgical factors associated with mandibular sagittal split outcomes associated with optimal postoperatively skeletal stability.

Effectiveness of an oral function intervention for older Taiwanese people.

Objective: Oral function disorders occur often in older people with increasing age. Oral function disorders affect bodily function and self-esteem, which are related to quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral function intervention programme on the oral function of older Taiwanese people.

Comparisons of Jaw Line and Face Line after Mandibular Setback: Intraoral Vertical Ramus versus Sagittal Split Ramus Osteotomies.

Background: This study investigates the differences in the lateral profile and frontal appearance after sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO) and intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy (IVRO) procedures for the correction of mandibular prognathism.

Methods: Sixty patients (30 SSRO and 30 IVRO) underwent mandibular setback surgery. Serial cephalograms were obtained: (1) T1: approximately 1 month before surgery; (2) T2: at least 6 months after surgery for SSRO and at least 1 year after surgery for IVRO.

Comorbidity profiles among patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis: A case-control study.

Background/purpose: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is common and associated with certain comorbidities. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of selected comorbidities in patients with RAUs and to compare the risks of comorbidity between the two cohorts of patients with or without RAUs based on the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database.

Methods: This case-control study included patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (the RAS cohort) and patients without recurrent aphthous stomatitis using 1:1 matching for year of index date, age, sex, monthly income, geographical location, and urbanization level (the non-RAS cohort).

Improving chondrocyte harvests with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) coated materials in the preparation for cartilage tissue engineering.

Remarkable advances have been made in cartilage regenerative medicine to cure congenital anomalies including microtia, tissue defects caused by craniofacial injuries, and geriatric diseases such as osteoarthritis. However, those procedures require a substantial quantity of chondrocytes for tissue engineering. Previous studies have required several passages to obtain sufficient cell numbers for three-dimensional and monolayer cultures.

Retrospective analysis of nonendodontic periapical lesions misdiagnosed as endodontic apical periodontitis lesions in a population of Taiwanese patients.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate nonendodontic periapical lesions clinically misdiagnosed as endodontic periapical pathoses in a population of Taiwanese patients.

Materials And Methods: Cases (2000-2014) of histopathological diagnoses of nonendodontic periapical lesions were retrieved from all cases with a clinical diagnosis of radicular cyst, apical granuloma, or apical periodontitis in the institution. These cases were regarded as misdiagnosed nonendodontic periapical lesions, of which the types and frequencies, in addition to the demographic data, were determined.

TGF-β1 and IL-10 single nucleotide polymorphisms as risk factors for oral cancer in Taiwanese.

Cytokine production capacity varies among individuals and depends on cytokine gene polymorphisms. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) plays a significant role in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of epithelial cells. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an immunoregulatory cytokine with biological functions of anti-inflammation, immunosuppression, allergy, and anti-agenesis.

Role of cytokine gene (interferon-γ, transforming growth factor-β1, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10) polymorphisms in the risk of oral precancerous lesions in Taiwanese.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma can be preceded by some benign oral lesions with malignant potential, including leukoplakia, erythroplakia, oral lichen planus, and oral submucous fibrosis. There are different degrees of inflammatory cells infiltration in histopathology. Inflammatory cytokines may play a pathogenic role in the development of oral precancerous lesions (OPCLs).

Relationship between betel quid chewing and radiographic alveolar bone loss among Taiwanese aboriginals: a retrospective study.

Background: Betel quid chewing is associated with the periodontal status; however, results of epidemiological studies are inconsistent. To the best of our knowledge, no study has reported radiographic alveolar bone loss (RABL) associated with betel quid chewing.

Methods: This survey was conducted in an aboriginal community in Taiwan because almost all betel quid chewers were city-dwelling cigarette smokers.

Tibial cancellous bone grafting in jaw reconstruction: 10 years of experience in Taiwan.

Background: Use of proximal tibia as a donor site has been applied in jawbone reconstruction since the 1990s. Catone and colleagues described a U-shaped incision made on the iliotibial tract during tibial cancellous bone procurement for maxillofacial reconstruction in 1992. We used a curvilinear incision on the iliotibial tract in lateral approach in our tibial cancellous bone harvesting procedure.

Cytochrome p450 metabolism of betel quid-derived compounds: implications for the development of prevention strategies for oral and pharyngeal cancers.

Betel quid (BQ) products, with or without tobacco, have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as group I human carcinogens that are associated with an elevated risk of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx. There are estimated 600 million BQ users worldwide. In Taiwan alone there are 2 million habitual users (approximately 10% of the population).

Incidence and clinical significance of zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture involving the temporomandibular joint with emphasis on trismus.

Trismus is frequently a sequel of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement in a zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fracture. Although trismus is commonly observed in patients with ZMC fracture, continuous follow-up examinations of their degree of mouth opening have rarely been documented. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence and clinical significance of ZMC fracture involving the glenoid fossa or articular eminence of the TMJ with an emphasis on trismus.

BMP-2 embedded atelocollagen scaffold for tissue-engineered cartilage cultured in the medium containing insulin and triiodothyronine--a new protocol for three-dimensional in vitro culture of human chondrocytes.

When the chondrocytes are isolated from the native cartilage and proliferate in vitro, they soon lose their original ability to express glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and type II collagen, which is termed dedifferentiation, or decrease cell viability. We first examined in vitro cartilage regeneration of tissue-engineered pellets that consisted of human auricular chondrocytes and atelocollagen and that were incubated in vitro under stimulation with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), insulin, and T(3). We then examined the administration of those growth factors into the scaffold or in the medium and explored the possibility that the atelocollagen, the hydrogel scaffold of the chondrocytes, may function for drug delivery of the factors.

Administration of the insulin into the scaffold atelocollagen for tissue-engineered cartilage.

Three-dimensional culture of the tissue-engineered cartilage constructs may increase the matrix production, but central necrosis must occur if the construct becomes large. To increase the cell viability in the middle part of constructs and to enhance the in vivo cartilage regeneration, we attempted to administer the insulin into the scaffold. Insulin is known to strongly enhance the matrix production in the chondrocytes.

Artificial dermis as the substitute for split-thickness skin graft in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the viability of artificial dermis as a substitute for split-thickness skin graft in the treatment of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF).

Methods: The study was conducted on 21 patients who had undergone surgical treatment of trismus caused by OSF. Artificial dermis grafts were used to repair the surgical defects after surgery on the fibrous bands.