Publications by authors named "Prasad Amaratunga"

Bone expansion is when the existing bone at the implant site is split and separated to create a gap to widen it. This article introduces a novel concept of bone expansion for the ultrathin alveolar ridges to place dental implants with zero wastage of existing natural bone in long-term edentulous arches. Instead of using twist drills and piezo surgery kits, the bone is split with a surgical scalpel blade to prevent natural bone wastage.

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Article Synopsis
  • Betel quid chewing is a major cause of oral cancer in South Asia, and researchers studied its effects on epithelial cells, particularly focusing on arecoline, a key substance in betel quid.
  • After treating human gingival epithelial progenitors with arecoline, genome-wide analyses identified DUSP4 as a significant gene linked to the disease, showing prominent differences in methylation levels in betel quid-related oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
  • The study revealed that the hypermethylation of DUSP4 is a notable characteristic of oral cancer caused by betel quid chewing, confirming its potential as a biomarker for this specific form of cancer.
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Human beta defensin 2 (hBD-2) is a major antimicrobial peptide that is produced by many types of epithelial cells, and is transcriptionally inducible by various proinflammatory agents, such as cytokines and bacteria. Although in vitro studies of the hBDs in oral epithelial cells have been well documented, only little is known about the in vivo pathological state of oral epithelium. We investigated the localization of hBD-2 peptide in tissue sections of oral lichen planus, leukoplakia, candidal leukoplakia and radicular cysts using immunohistochemistry.

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