Leukemic gingival enlargement- A case report and review

Oral signs are an early indicator for a variety of systemic diseases. Gingival enlargement can be due to local factors, certain medications, hormonal changes, and malignant diseases. Leukemia is a malignancy characterized by the proliferation of abnormal white blood cells within the bone marrow; oral changes may be the first and only presenting feature in these patients, making it imperative for dental surgeons to make accurate diagnosis and timely referral to prevent a fatal situation. This article aims to discuss a case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that came with the chief complaint of swollen gums for 2-month duration. The case was provisionally diagnosed as a leukemic gingival enlargement on the basis of oral manifestation and lymph node examination. Accurate diagnosis and early initiation of chemotherapy for leukemic gingival enlargement can improve the prognosis of the patient and also helps in avoiding complications. Around 50–80% of patients with AML achieve complete remission, more often in children and patients under the age of 60. This paper aims at emphasizing the importance of thorough oral examination and careful investigations to identify the underlying life-threatening condition.

Manejo estomatológico de pacientes con síndrome de Sjögren / Sjögren’s syndrome. Patients dentistry`s management

El síndrome de Sjögren es una enfermedad autoinmune. Afecta las glándulas que producen secreciones y humedad. Para esta investigación la revisión bibliográfica se realizó en bases de datos de Infomed, SciELO Regional, Clinical Key y PubMed; con el objetivo de actualizar los signos y síntomas orales, y el manejo estomatológico, en pacientes con síndrome de Sjögren. Los principales síntomas orales son: ardor y dolor de origen mucoso, disgeusia, dificultad en la fonación, formación del bolo alimenticio, masticación y deglución. Entre los signos orales se encuentran: pérdida del brillo, palidez y adelgazamiento de las mucosas, inflamación y candidiasis oral. El tratamiento estomatológico se realiza en tres fases: inicial, paliativa y preventiva, restauradora y rehabilitadora, y mantenimiento. Es importante conocer y diagnosticar los signos y síntomas orales del paciente con síndrome de Sjögren, pues estos requieren un manejo estomatológico especial.

Sjögren syndrome is an autoimmune disease. It attacks the secretions and humidity glands. For bibliographical databases reviewing, we used Infomed, SciELO Regional, Clinical Key and PubMed. In order to upgrade knowledge about oral signs and symptoms, dentistry`s management and treatment of Sjögren syndrome patients. Burning mucous and pain, dysgeusia, phonation, alimentary bolus formation, chewing and swallowing difficulties, are the main syntoms. Paleness, mucous membranes brilliance and weight loss, oral inflammation and candidiasis are most common signs. The dentistry`s management of patients with this syndrome, divides in three phases: start-up, palliative and preventive, restoring and rehabilitative, and maintenance. It is important to know and to diagnose signs and symptoms of the patient with a special dentistry`s management.

Oral manifestations of chikungunya fever in clinically diagnosed chikungunya cases (CDCG)-A Purposive study.

Aim and objective: The present study was undertaken to study the oral manifestations in clinically diagnosed Chikungunya cases which has recent epidemic breakdown in India after 43 years. Methods: This study was conducted in patients consulted for/ admitted in Government and private hospitals in epidemic regions of Chitoor and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh, India for clinically diagnosed Chikungunya from January 2010 to March 2010. A total of 200 persons having the signs and symptoms of clinically diagnosed Chikungunya were examined. Those with the history of systemic illness in the past two years were eliminated and thus a final sample of 112 patients was taken for this study. Blood samples were drawn and sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune for the serological confirmation of the Chikungunya fever after following the set protocols. Serum analysis was not done on two patients due to insufficient sera so the statistical analysis was done for 110 patients only. Results: The results showed that clinically oral manifestations were present in 95% of the patients. Females seem to be more affected than males. A significant difference is observed in the different age groups for symptoms. In clinically diagnosed Chikungunya patients higher age group (> 50 years) were found with higher rate of severity and symptoms than lower age group (< 20 years). Conclusion: The oral signs and symptoms in affected patients is clinically significant as opposed to previous studies which were conducted during previous epidemics. The authors propose to introduce the new term “Gunya stomatitis” to this oral signs and symptoms observed in this patients