Application of Botulinum toxin Type A: An arsenal in dentistry.

An extremely effective way of preventing damage to and enhancing treatment of dental hard tissues and restorations would be to ''de-programme'' the muscles responsible for excessive destructive forces and other gnathological-related diseases. The new paradigm is the intramuscular injection of Botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX) into the affected muscles. It is a natural protein produced by anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium botulinum. The toxin inhibits the release of acetylcholine (ACH), a neurotransmitter responsible for the activation of muscle contraction and glandular secretion, and its administration results in reduction of tone in the injected muscle. There are seven distinct serotypes of Botulinum toxin, viz., A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which differ in their potency, duration of action, and cellular target sites. This paper describes the different applications of BOTOX in dentistry.

Unilateral linear pansclerotic morphea affecting face and limbs.

Disabling pansclerotic morphea is a rare atrophying and sclerosing disorder of the subcutaneous tissue, muscle and bone. It is characterized by atrophy of the skin, subcutaneous fat, muscle and bone involving half of the face. In some patients the atrophic lesions extend to involve the ipsilateral or contralateral upper and lower limbs with radiological evidence of hemiatrophy. The patients may present with arthralgia, convulsions or cramps. We report a case of a woman with deformity of face, and left upper and lower limbs that had started as an indurated plaque on the left half of forehead at the age of 5 years and had gradually enlarged, followed by the development of atrophic changes in left eye. The case is being reported in view of its rare occurrence.