[Association between food regime and temporomandibular disorder signs and symptoms in female students]

The signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders are highly prevalent. The etiology of temporomandibular disorders is multi-factorial. One of the new reported etiologies is the usage of various hard food items. This study was an attempt to determine the possible relationship between hard food usage and the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorder. After elimination of other risk factors of temporomandibular disorders, 670 high school female students in five different areas in Isfahan city were selected by random cluster sampling. Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders [by means of clinical examination and questionnaire] and the frequency of using hard food items [in two groups and 13 subgroups] were assessed. The Chi- square test was used for evaluation of the relationship between the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorder and selected hard food usage. In the subjects who consumed selected hard food items more than 3 times a week, the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders was higher as compared with others using softer food. A significant relationship between selected hard carbohydrate usage more than 3 times a week and TMJ pain was found [p=0.019]. Moreover, a significant association was observed between using more than 3 times a week of at least one item of selected hard foods with TMJ pain [p=0/029] and TMJ sound [p=0.013]. According to the results of this study, using some selected hard foods more than 3 times a week was related to temporomandibular disorders

[Homeopathy treatment and pemphigus vulgaris: case series]

Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic vesicular and autoimmune disease that involves the skin and mucosal membranes. The prevalence is low and drugs used for treating pemphigus have a lot of side effects. It has been suggested that homeopathy may be helpful in treating pemphigus conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of homeopathy in treatment of pemphigus vulgaris patients. A total of 12 new patients were identified over 1.5 year period. Those who did not used any drug for treatment of their pemphigus. Seven patients volunteered to be treated by homeopathy. Homeopathy treatment was applied for four weeks during the waiting period until biopsy confirmation report was received. No drug was used over this period in order to evaluate the efficacy of homeopathy alone. By the end of homeopathy treatment, patients were evaluated regarding the number of lesions, amount of pain and their wellness. According to the findings, two patients had prominent remission and six of them reported feeling better and had less pain. It seems that homeopathy does not have the expected efficacy of conventional therapy in controlling pemphigus conditions, but it may be used together with conventional treatment in order to reduce pain, dosage of corticosteroid medication used and also facilitates patients' recovery. In conclusion, further studies are required in order to determine the value of homeopathy more accurately when treating pemphigus conditions

[Combined uses of two kinds of LASERS Nd-YAG and Er-YAG in treatment of oral fibroma and pathological evaluation of obtainedsamples: case report]

Today, the laser is used in a wide range of dental procedures. Some of the advantages of some lasers in treatment of oral soft tissue lesions are: elimination of need for local anesthesia, minimal bleeding, fast healing, absence of postoperative complications and reduction of recurrence rate. For these reasons is was used for treatment of oral fibroma. To our knowledge this is the first time both Nd: YAG and Er: YAG lasers was used for biopsy of oral fibroma in Iran. Oral fibroma was removed by these two lasers and examined by pathologist. The patient had no pain without using any local anesthesia. While using Nd: YAG laser, bleeding was not seen but cutting of tissue was slower than using blade . When using Er: YAG, cutting of tissue was faster than previous laser but bleeding could be seen