Contralateral recurrence of necrotizing sialometaplasia of the hard palate after five months: a case report

Necrotizing sialometaplasia usually heals within 4 to 10 weeks with conservative treatment, and rarely recurs. When necrotizing sialometaplasia is present on the hard palate it may occur unilaterally or bilaterally. In this case, necrotizing ulceration occurred on the left hard palate of a 36-year-old woman after root canal treatment of the upper left first premolar under local anesthesia. After only saline irrigation the defect of the lesion completely healed and filled with soft tissue. After 5 months, however, a similar focal necrosis was found on the contralateral hard palate without any dental treatment having been performed on that side and progressed in similar fashion as the former lesion. We conducted an incisional biopsy and obtained a final pathological diagnosis for the palatal mass of necrotizing sialometaplasia. At the 3-year follow-up, the patient's oral mucosa of the hard palate was normal, without any signs and symptoms of the condition. We report a case of a second occurrence of necrotizing sialometaplasia on the contralateral side from the first, with a time lapse between the first and second occurrence.

Use of the pedicled buccal fat pad in the reconstruction of intraoral defects: a report of five cases

The buccal fat pad is specialized fat tissue located anterior to the masseter muscle and deep to the buccinator muscle. Possessing a central body and four processes it provides separation allowing gliding motion between muscles, protects the neurovascular bundles from injuries, and maintains facial convexity. Because of its many advantageous functions, the use of the buccal fat pad during oral and maxillofacial procedures is promoted for the reconstruction of defects secondary to tumor resection, and those defects resulting from oroantral fistula caused by dento-alveolar surgery or trauma. We used the pedicled buccal fat pad in the reconstruction of intraoral defects such as oroantral fistula, maxillary posterior bone loss, or defects resulting from tumor resection. Epithelization of the fat tissue began 1 week after the surgery and demonstrated stable healing without complications over a long-term period. Thus, we highly recommend the use of this procedure.

Anterior open bite with temporomandibular disorders treated with intermaxillary traction using skeletal anchorage system

OBJECTIVES: The anterior open bite with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is one of the most challenging cases both orthodontically and surgically. We introduce an intermaxillary traction treatment for patients with anterior open bite and TMD using a skeletal anchorage system (SAS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was comprised of 52 patients with anterior open bite and TMD. A total of four mini-screws were inserted, two screws each into the maxilla and mandible, to obtain a class II pattern of elastic application with 120-200 g force. Adjunctive muscle relaxation treatments, such as splint therapy, medication, and botulinum toxin injection were applied during or before intermaxillary traction. At least one treatment among adjunctive muscle relaxation treatment, mentioned above, was applied to 96.2% of patients. We evaluated the clinical characteristics of patients, TMD symptom changes, amount of open bite improved. The degree of open bite improvement was compared between the open bite-reduced group (21 patients) and not-reduced group (5 patients). RESULTS: TMD symptoms (muscle/joint pain, joint sound, mouth opening) remained or improved in most patients, and worsened in about 10% of patients for each items. Anterior open bite was improved by a mean of 1.75 mm (P<0.01) during treatment. The open bite-reduced group exhibited a significant open bite improvement compared to the not-reduced group (P<0.05), with 37% of open bite improvement occurring during the first 3 months of treatment. CONCLUSION: The intermaxillary traction technique using SAS is a valid modality for correction of anterior open bite and improvement of TMD symptoms.