Understanding patient safety in dentistry: evaluating the present and envisioning the future-a narrative review.

Background: Patient safety is crucial in dentistry, yet it has received delayed recognition compared with other healthcare fields. This literature review assesses the current state of patient safety in dentistry, investigates the reasons for the delay, and offers recommendations for enhancing patient safety in dental practices, dental schools, and hospitals.

Methods: The review incorporates a thorough analysis of existing literature on patient safety in dentistry.

Novel hypotheses related to Temporomandibular joint derived from Ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a seronegative arthropathy that affects fibrocartilaginous joints leading to arthritis and eventually ankylosis. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ), a fibrocartilaginous joint is affected to a lesser extent than the other joints, very rarely precipitating TMJ ankylosis. No explanation exists for the same in the present literature.

Stem Cell Therapy for Treatment of Ocular Disorders.

Sustenance of visual function is the ultimate focus of ophthalmologists. Failure of complete recovery of visual function and complications that follow conventional treatments have shifted search to a new form of therapy using stem cells. Stem cell progenitors play a major role in replenishing degenerated cells despite being present in low quantity and quiescence in our body.

Odontogenic epithelial stem cells: hidden sources.

The ultimate goal of dental stem cell research is to construct a bioengineered tooth. Tooth formation occurs based on the well-organized reciprocal interaction of epithelial and mesenchymal cells. The dental mesenchymal stem cells are the best explored, but because the human odontogenic epithelium is lost after the completion of enamel formation, studies on these cells are scarce.