Recent Modalities in Pain Control and Local Anesthesia in Dentistry: A Narrative Review.

Pain in the orofacial region or within the tooth is one of the most common complaints patients report to a dental office. An efficient practitioner must have adequate knowledge and tools to address and remedy the problem. Pain control in dentistry has a rich history and learning about it gives an insight into how the current modalities being used came into existence. As dentistry keeps evolving, newer and more efficient modalities have been developed for pain control. Dental pain is primarily remedied by dental practitioners and clinicians involved in emergency medicine; it may result due to various causes, mainly insulting the tooth or complications involved in and after oral surgery. Several modalities have been developed to reduce and eliminate this, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment modalities. Pharmacological modalities include using drugs. Many medications are used for pain management, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, and muscle relaxants. Non-pharmacological modalities include behavior control methods based on several theories of pain. These modalities are used mainly for children, but some can also be used for adult patients. Several advances in delivery systems for local anesthesia involve using newer technologies to deliver a sustained dose of anesthetic agent. This review aims to enlist both modalities of pain control management in dental practices along with the newer advancements in this field.

Median Rhomboid Glossitis: A Developmental Disorder Involving the Central Part of the Tongue.

Median rhomboid glossitis (MRG), also known as posterior midline atrophic candidiasis, is a developmental disorder of the oral cavity. It usually involves the central part of the dorsum surface of the tongue. It is a papillary atrophy that is generally well-defined and symmetrical in presentation. It is usually a painless lesion, but some patients may complain of mild itching and irritation in that region. This lesion is more predominant in males than females. It has been widely argued that this lesion is not a developmental disorder but a clinical manifestation of a fungal etiology. This article presents a case report of a 55-year-old woman who reported to the oral medicine department in a tertiary care center in Wardha, India, with the chief complaint of an oval-shaped, discolored area on the dorsum of her tongue since birth. This article also emphasizes the role of a dental practitioner in diagnosing the lesion and appropriate patient education regarding the condition.

Smoker's Palate: An Often Misunderstood Benign Lesion of the Oral Cavity.

Smoker's palate is a type of lesion that occurs on the mucosa of the hard and soft palate almost exclusively in smokers. This lesion is prevalent in smokers who practice reverse smoking and less common in cigar and cigarette smokers. The lesion known as smoker's palate is also referred to as nicotina stomatitis and nicotina palatini, which suggests the role of nicotine in the manifestation of the lesion, but this is a misnomer as the lesion occurs due to the impact of heat coupled with the irritation caused by agents such as tobacco and marijuana; there is no role of nicotine in it. Patients who notice this lesion tend to misinterpret it as an early manifestation of squamous cell carcinoma. Although this is not true, this can be an excellent opportunity to counsel patients regarding the ill effects of smoking and guide them to quit the habit, citing that it causes cancer. This article presents a case report of a 27-year-old male with a smoker's palate. This article also highlights the importance of dental practitioners in diagnosing the lesion and how patients often misunderstand this lesion as a severe condition.

Overcoming Barriers to Dental Care in India by the Use of Mobile Dental Vans.

The aim of this literature review was to compile and present information on the use of mobile dental vans (MDVs) in India and to figure out if the use of these vans can be used to eliminate the barriers that prevent Indian people from getting access to quality and affordable dental care. Since the working of an MDV is quite complex, this article also serves to summarize the information available in the existing literature in a much simpler yet elaborate manner. An electronic database search was done using relevant keywords such as MDVs, mobile health units, dental vans, mobile dentistry, and portable dentistry on search engines PubMed, Scopus, and Medline. After removing the irrelevant and duplicate articles, 30 were shortlisted and reviewed. It is a difficult task to provide access to affordable dental care to every person in a country like India, which has such a large population and a large number of people living in rural areas. People who live in rural areas and/or belong to a lower socioeconomic class are more susceptible to oral diseases. Lower economic status, geographical location, motivational barriers, lack of public transportation, etc., deter people from receiving adequate dental care. MDVs are vehicles that can work as independent, efficient operatories to provide dental care and act as an adjunct as well as an alternative to conventional methods of improving the oral health of the community. The global impact of MDVs, coupled with efficient and organized implementation, can make them an instrumental tool for the good. The various barriers to providing dental care to the underserved groups of the population can be easily overcome through this powerful tool.

Anterior En Masse Retraction in Orthodontics.

This article reviews and critically analyzes the literature on mini-implants (temporary anchorage devices) for anterior en masse retraction in orthodontics. The search methods used were an E-database search, a secondary computerized search of orthodontics journals, and a reference list of selected studies. Eligibility criteria included individuals who underwent orthodontic treatment for correction of malocclusion with premolar extraction. Data were taken from PubMed and Scopus as well as the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Keywords used for searching the article were temporary anchorage devices, premolar extraction, orthodontics, and anterior en masse retraction, Anterior en masse retraction with sliding mechanics in pre-adjusted edgewise appliances was considered for the study. Data collection and analysis involved three different researchers performing three steps of selection. All titles were initially filtered for irrelevant review articles. In the first step, all summaries from the selected studies were reviewed, and in the second, the entire content of the papers was read. The study was then discarded based on qualifying standards. A chart was created using the data from the final chosen research as well as the findings. The following information was evaluated for the final table: author, publication year, research structure, study group, sample size, methods/measures, study findings, and conclusion about frictionless mechanics. Results showed that a meta-analysis was not feasible due to clinical and statistical variability, as well as variations in study design, sample selection, and sample size. Thus, it was concluded that sliding mechanisms are widely employed in orthodontic treatment, but temporary anchorage devices and sliding mechanisms deliver great results. There is a need to raise awareness about these devices and use them with care.