Spontaneous involution of a unilateral mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst

Introduction: The mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst is a rare inflammatory odontogenic cyst that typically develops at the buccal region of the first or second permanent mandibular molars of children aged 6 to 15 years. The tooth involved is vital and shows an increased probing depth on the buccal surface. Radiographically, it is characterized by a unilocular radiolucent area, well circumscribed on the buccal osseous cortical, that it is difficult to visualize on periapical radiography. The diagnosis is primarily clinical and radiographic, and the treatment is usually the cystic enucleation without extraction of the tooth. Objective: To report a case of spontaneous involution of a unilateral mandibular buccal bifurcation cyst. Case presentation: This report describes the clinical and radiographic characteristics of an unusual case of unilateral buccal bifurcation cyst in a 6-year-old patient, presenting as a slight expansion in the buccal region of the first permanent mandibular molar. The treatment of choice was the clinical and radiographic follow-up due to the spontaneous involution of the cyst. There were no recurrences during follow-up and the tooth remained vital and erupted normally. Conclusions: The possibility of spontaneous involution is a characteristic that must always be observed, in order to avoid unnecessary surgical procedures.(AU)

Introducción: El quiste de bifurcación bucal mandibular es un quiste odontogénico inflamatorio poco frecuente que, en general, se desarrolla en la región bucal de primeros y segundos molares mandibulares permanentes en niños de 6-15 años. El diente involucrado es vital y muestra una mayor profundidad de sondeo en la superficie bucal. Radiográficamente, se caracteriza por un área radiolúcida unilocular, bien circunscrita en la cortical ósea bucal, que es difícil de visualizar en la radiografía periapical. El diagnóstico es principalmente clínico y radiográfico y el tratamiento suele ser la enucleación quística sin extracción del diente. Objetivo: Informar un caso de involución espontánea de un quiste de bifurcación vestibular mandibular unilateral. Presentación del caso: Caso inusual de quiste de bifurcación bucal unilateral en un paciente de 6 años, que se presenta como una ligera expansión de la región vestibular del primer molar mandibular permanente. El tratamiento de elección fue el seguimiento clínico y radiográfico debido a la involución espontánea del quiste. No hubo recurrencias durante el seguimiento y el diente permaneció vital y brotó normalmente. Conclusiones: La posibilidad de involución espontánea es una característica que siempre se debe observar para evitar procedimientos quirúrgicos innecesarios(AU)

Conventional and digital radiographic assessment of tooth enamel de-/remineralization processes: An experimental study.

Objective: This study aimed to compare digital techniques for evaluating dental enamel de-/remineralization. Materials and Methods: Sixty extracted molars were subjected to a process of de- and remineralization. Radiographs were taken before and after each stage. These radiographs were evaluated by the conventional method and were then scanned and analyzed either with or without the use of image enhancement. Moreover, the gray levels (GLs) of the affected areas were measured. Results: All methods exhibited low sensitivity and identical levels of specificity (99.4%). Analysis of the grayscale levels found statistically significant differences between the initial radiographs (P < 0.05). The mean GL of the carious group was significantly lower than that of the remineralized group. The GL did not differ significantly between the initial and final radiographs of the remineralized group, although the mean of the first group was lower than that of the second, which demonstrated that the remineralization process restored the normal density of the dental enamel. Conclusion: Measurement of the mean GL was sufficiently sensitive to detect small alterations in the surface of the enamel.