Self-assessment of the forensic value of dental records.

One of the most important aspects of a person's dental record may well prove to be it's potential value should the forensic dental identification of their remains become necessary. The better the quality of the antemortem dental records, the easier and faster the identification of the remains will be. The forensic dentist must be able to select identifying features by decoding the deceased's antemortem dental records.

Palatal canalicular adenoma: report of 12 cases and review of the literature.

Canalicular adenoma is the second most common type of adenoma of the oral region and arises almost exclusively in the upper lip. Other locations include the buccal mucosa, the palate, and the parotid gland. We report 12 cases of canalicular adenoma that arose in the palates of nine women and three men between the ages of 42 and 76 years.

Central odontogenic fibroma, WHO type. A report of three cases with an unusual associated giant cell reaction.

Three cases of central odontogenic fibroma, WHO type, that exhibited a prominent giant cell granuloma-like histopathologic component are described in this report. All three lesions occurred in women, and all were located in the mandibular premolar-molar region. One lesion recurred after conservative excision, and the recurrence displayed the two histologically distinct tissues of the original lesion.

Use of orthopantomographs in forensic identification.

Radiographs of the head region were used for identification of 17 victims during an 11-year period in the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Turku, Finland. Examinations resulted in positive identification of 10 victims. Proof of identity of four people was based on exclusion identifications.

Primary osteosarcoma of the parotid gland.

Four cases of primary osteosarcoma of the parotid gland, where these tumors rarely occur, are presented. This neoplasm may arise after radiation therapy, but the majority arise de novo. As a group, extraosseous osteogenic sarcomas are aggressive and lethal.

Traumatic bone cyst, aneurysmal bone cyst, and central giant cell granuloma--pathogenetically related lesions?

Three central bone lesions, a traumatic bone cyst, an aneurysmal bone cyst, and a central giant cell granuloma are reported. Comparisons of the clinical, radiographic, and histological features were made. Although these lesions are recognized as separate and distinct pathological entities, a common pathogenesis is suggested by similarities in certain features.

Localized primary amyloid tumor of the parotid gland.

We report a case of primary amyloid tumor (amyloidoma) of the left parotid gland. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of this tumor in a parotid gland to be reported in the English literature. Congo red staining with prior potassium permanganate incubation confirmed the localized primary type of amyloid.