Oral lichen nitidus case report.

This case report aims to increase awareness that lichen nitidus may affect the mouth and therefore supports multidisciplinary management, particularly between dermatologists and dental professionals.

Oral Medicine for undergraduate dental students in the United Kingdom and Ireland-A curriculum.

Introduction: Oral Medicine focuses on care for patients with chronic, recurrent and medically related disorders of the orofacial region that are distinct from diseases of the periodontal and tooth tissues, with an emphasis on non-surgical management. At present, there are no shared outcomes for Oral Medicine to define the standards to be achieved before new graduates become registered dentists engaged with ongoing professional development.

Curriculum: We present a consensus undergraduate curriculum in Oral Medicine agreed by representatives from 18 Dental Schools in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Clinical medical sciences for undergraduate dental students in the United Kingdom and Ireland - a curriculum.

The technical aspects of dentistry need to be practised with insight into the spectrum of human diseases and illnesses and how these impact upon individuals and society. Application of this insight is critical to decision-making related to the planning and delivery of safe and appropriate patient-centred healthcare tailored to the needs of the individual. Provision for the necessary training is included in undergraduate programmes, but in the United Kingdom and Ireland there is considerable variation between centres without common outcomes.

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and delayed onset, recurrent angioedema of the head and neck.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are a commonly prescribed, effective medication in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. Several side-effects of dental relevance can occur including angioedema of the lips, mouth and throat. This adverse effect is well reported and can be fatal, but it is not always recognised by clinicians, as the angioedema does not always have a clear relationship with the commencement of the medication.

Senior dental students' career intentions, work-life balance and retirement plans.

Objective: To gather information from senior dental students about their future career plans, with particular emphasis on work-life balance issues, their attitudes towards the NHS and retirement plans.

Method: Senior dental students at the Universities of Dundee and Manchester were asked to complete a voluntary anonymous questionnaire.

Results: In all 141 questionnaires were completed, 42 by students in Manchester and 114 in Dundee.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pentoxifylline for the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Objective: To evaluate pentoxifylline for the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Design: A 60-day, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a 60-day no treatment follow-up.

Setting: An oral medicine specialist referral center in Manchester.

Patterns of antifungal prescribing in general dental practice.

Objective: To examine the current practice of antifungal prescribing by GDPs in the United Kingdom. Design A postal questionnaire circulated to a random selection of 400 dentists.

Outcome Measures: The questionnaires were analysed and the responses expressed as absolute and relative frequencies.

Miconazole oral gel and drug interactions.

Miconazole oral gel is frequently prescribed for the treatment of oral Candidal infections. Its ability to be systemically absorbed and interact with other drugs has previously been recorded but is not universally known. As a reminder, a further case of derangement of anticoagulation following concomitant use of warfarin and miconazole is reported.

Providing support for problem-based learning in dentistry: the Manchester experience.

The introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) into any programme demands a period of adjustment on the part of faculty. Similarly, students new to PBL take time to adapt to what is, for the majority of them, an unfamiliar mode of learning. At Manchester, closed loop PBL is used throughout the first and second years of the dental programme; the method is interdisciplinary; there are no subject boundaries.

Adverse reactions associated with the use of eugenol in dentistry.

Eugenol is a material commonly used in dentistry with few reported side effects. It is not however, a bio-friendly material when in contact with oral soft tissues. It can produce both local irritative and cytotoxic effects, as well as hypersensitivity reactions.

An open clinical trial of sulphamethoxypyridazine in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid.

Twenty-five patients with mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP), whose oral lesions were unresponsive to topical steroid treatment, were treated with 1 g daily of sulphamethoxypyridazine (SMXP), a long-acting sulphonamide antibiotic, in an open prospective clinical trial. Lesion severity was assessed objectively in a semiquantitative fashion before treatment and after 14 weeks of treatment. The patient's subjective assessment of the associated pain or discomfort, using a visual analogue scale, was also recorded at these times.

Development and preliminary evaluation of an instrument designed to assess dental students' communication skills.

The aim of this study was to develop, and assess the inter-observer reliability of an instrument for evaluating dental students' communication skills. Methods used were process-tracking of interactions between experienced practitioners and patients, development of the instrument and its simultaneous use by two researchers observing 43 third year dental students prior to communication skills training. The results found that the instrument was appropriate for the purpose for which it was designed, and was easy to utilise.

Delayed and immediate hypersensitivity reactions associated with the use of amalgam.

Hypersensitivity to the constituents of dental amalgam is uncommon. When it occurs it typically manifests itself as a lichenoid reaction involving a delayed, type IV, cell-mediated hypersensitivity response. Rarely, a more acute and generalised response can occur involving both the oral mucosa and skin.

Sensitivity of Candida albicans to negative air ion streams.

Negative air ions (NAIs) are known to kill C. albicans; however, their precise mechanism of action is uncertain. Elucidation of this has been hampered by a lack of reproducibility between results obtained by different investigators.

Phospholipid molecular species distribution of some medically important Candida species analysed by fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy.

The aim of this study was to obtain detailed information on phospholipids (PL) of the medically important Candida species and to determine their possible chemotaxonomic significance. Lipids were extracted from 22 strains representing 8 Candida species and their PL molecular species distributions were determined by Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectroscopy (FAB MS) in negative ion mode. Fifteen major lower mass peaks (m/z 221 to 289) were attributable to the expected presence of carboxylate anions and 24 major higher mass peaks (m/z 557 to 837) were attributable to phospholipid anions.

Chronic sinusitis and zinc-containing endodontic obturating pastes.

Several researchers have reported a link between the development of a solitary antral aspergillus sinusitis and the presence of zinc-containing root canal obturating paste within the antrum. If diagnosed correctly, it is generally accepted that this type of sinusitis can be treated effectively using surgical techniques alone. However, previous reports have shown that this is not always the case and may result in prolonged and inappropriate treatment of the condition.

Radiological appearance of clinical inflammatory sinus disease with bone destruction. The significance of contrast enhancement.

It is generally accepted that conventional imaging techniques have limitations in their ability to differentiate benign and malignant disease processes resulting in bone destruction. Although computed tomography (CT) has proved helpful in the diagnosis of such lesions in the paranasal sinuses, the underlying radiological criteria are unclear and the value of contrast enhancement appears limited. Conventional radiographs and CT scans, with dynamic contrast infusion, from five patients in whom a provisional diagnosis of antral carcinoma had been made were reviewed in the light of a subsequent histopathological diagnosis of benign inflammatory disease.

The possible influence of the menstrual cycle on the adherence of Candida albicans to human buccal epithelial cells in vitro.

Although the influence of the menstrual cycle on both vaginal candidosis and Candida albicans adherence to vaginal epithelial cells in vitro has been shown to be significant, similar studies have not been made on oral candidosis and adherence to buccal epithelial cells. The aim of this study was therefore to use an in vitro adherence assay to investigate the possible influence of the menstrual cycle on the adherence of C. albicans to buccal epithelial cells.

The influence of post-filtration washing on the in vitro assay of Candida albicans adherence to human buccal epithelial cells.

A simple in vitro assay technique was used to determine the effect of post-filtration washing on the adherence of C. albicans (NCPF 3736) to human buccal epithelial cells (BEC). Washing was carried out with a range of volumes of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), viz.

True lateral dermoid cyst of the neck.

A case of a lateral dermoid cyst presenting in the submandibular triangle without previous intra-oral swelling is reported. Sonography provided the key to diagnosis and is the first investigation of choice.