Oral changes associated with tobacco use.

Tobacco is a delivery system for the addictive agent nicotine. The dental profession is encouraged to perform oral examinations that focus on oral cancer detection, but other oral changes occur with tobacco use. The oral mucosa is composed of stratified squamous epithelium and masticatory/keratinized (hard palate, dorsum of the tongue, and keratinized gingival) and lining mucosa (floor of the mouth, ventrolateral surface of the tongue, soft palate complex, labial vestibule, and buccal mucosa).

Total joint replacement: a consideration for antimicrobial prophylaxis.

Infection is the principal and most devastating complication of total joint replacement, resulting in long periods of hospitalization, staggering costs, loss of the implant, disastrous physical impairment, and even death. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis account for more than 50% of late infections. Animal studies have shown that joint implants are at a high risk of becoming infected via a metastatic hematogenous route during transient bacteremias.

Glossodynia, iron deficiency anemia, and gastrointestinal malignancy. Report of a case.

A postmenopausal woman was referred by a medical specialist for the evaluation of xerostomia and glossodynia. An ensuing oral diagnostic workup showed that the patient was suffering from iron deficiency anemia secondary to blood loss caused by a tumor in the large intestine. The original oral symptoms resolved after a right hemicolectomy.

An amalgam tattoo causing local and systemic disease?

Amalgam tattoos are common oral lesions. The case presented here involved a 33-year-old woman who had had an amalgam tattoo for 2 years and complained of localized soreness and occasional swelling as well as systemic symptoms of weight loss, fatigue, sinusitis, and headaches. After excisional biopsy of the lesion, the patient's complaints ceased dramatically.

An evaluation of the efficacy and irritability of Sporicidin as a hand dip.

Sporicidin, diluted 1:16, used as a disinfectant hand dip, was found to produce substantial percent reductions in the mean number of colony-forming units in comparisons between microbial recoveries of the control and Sporicidin-dipped hands. Sporicidin at this concentration appears to demonstrate efficacy as an antimicrobial agent, but dermal irritation, sensitivity and yellowing of the skin, and its objectionable odor may preclude its routine clinical use.

Prosthodontics. Diagnostic, treatment planning, and prognostic considerations.

The prosthodontic rehabilitation of a patient is usually the culmination of a patient's dental treatment. In order to maximize the prognosis, it is necessary to understand the patient, to make a thorough diagnosis, to coordinate the restoration with the other disciplines of dentistry, and to be knowledgeable of the spectrum of treatment modalities available.

Complications and prognostic considerations in operative dentistry.

Several aspects of routine operative treatment procedures may result in particularly challenging problems and complications. This article reviews the potential for such complications with emphasis on the ultimate treatment prognosis.