Chronic mental illness and its treatment carry inherent risks for significant oral diseases. Given the shift in treatment regimens from the traditional institutionally based approach to more community-focused alternatives, general dental practitioners can expect to see and be asked to treat patients with various forms of psychiatric disorders. One such group consists of patients with bipolar di...

Dental trauma to the permanent dentition can lead to clinical complications and its management may considerably challenge a practitioner. The incidence of pulp canal obliteration following dental trauma has been reported to be approximately 4 - 24%. Attempting to locate canals following calcific metamorphosis and negotiating it to full working length may lead to iatrogenic errors such as fractu...

Thorough knowledge on the aetiology of tooth staining is of importance to dental surgeons, in order to enable a correct diagnosis to be made when examining a discoloured dentition and it allows the dental practitioner to explain to the patient the exact nature of the condition. Tetracyclines are a group of drugs which can discolour teeth permanently. One such case of discolouration of adult tee...

Objectives: The general health of the dental patient is important in dental practice as it can influence dental management of the patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of cardiovascular and endocrine diseases in patients who referred for dental treatment. Study Design: A total 13527 records of patients who were examined in our clinic were reviewed retrospectively to in...

Infective endocarditis is a rare but life-threatening microbial infection of the heart valves or endocardium, most often related to congenital or acquired cardiac defects. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently updated its recommendations on prophylaxis during dental procedures. The revisions will have a profound impact on both the patient and the dental practitioner. The purpose of this...

One of the roles of a dental practitioner is the identification and management of oral mucosal disease (pathology) in its many forms. A tissue biopsy is an important step in the diagnostic process for oral lesions, while the skill required to perform a biopsy should be well within the capability of most practising dentists. The purpose of this article is to help dental practitioners to identify...

Dental Update – November 2002 Abstract: Lichen planus is a relatively common, often clinically distinctive, mucocutaneous condition with an uncertain aetiology. One variant of lichen planus is the so-called ‘lichenoid drug eruption’. In contrast to idiopathic lichen planus, lichenoid drug eruptions, where practicable, may be managed by substitution of the offending drug. The dental clinician is...

UNLABELLED Treatment of dental trauma can be an infrequent, unpredictable and stressful experience for a dental practitioner. Correct diagnosis and management of such cases is of primary importance in the prognosis of the affected dentition. We have therefore constructed a number of easy to follow algorithms in management, both short and long term, for the range of traumatic injuries that can a...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of diabetes mellitus, or DM, in the United States is increasing steadily. The increasing longevity of the American population and more effective diagnostic protocols mean that the dental practitioner will be treating an increasing number of patients with the disease. METHODS The authors present relevant information about DM, including a recently revised nomenclature ...

We are much indebted to Dr. Sim Wallace for giving us a book from his able contributions which have appeared from time to time in the Journal of the British Dental Association on " The Etiology of Dental Caries." The headings of the chapters are sufficient to show how carefully and exhaustively he has gone into the subject, and it is not too much to say that it is a work that ought to be in the...