Extramedullary plasmacytoma of gingiva and soft tissue in neck.

Plasmacytoma is a malignant disease that present either in bone marrow (medullary plasmacytoma), within the bone (solitary plasmacytoma of bone), or outside of bone, as the extramedullary plasmacytoma. Extramedullary plasmacytoma accounts for 3% of all plasma cell tumours and approximately 90% of extramedullary plasmacytomas affect the head and neck region commonly affecting the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, tonsillar fossa and oral cavity. Multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma is defined when there is more than one extramedullary tumour of clonal plasma cells and such presentations are extremely rare. We report such a rare case of multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma involving gingiva and neck. Here is a case report of a 65-year-old female patient presenting with extramedullary plasmacytoma of the gingiva and soft tissue in neck.

A Subjective Assessment of Perceived Clarity of Indirect Digital Images and Processed Digital Images with Conventional Intra-oral Periapical Radiographs.

OBJECTIVES: To compare and analyze the perceived clarity and diagnostic value of Conventional periapical Radiographs (CRs) with those of their Digitized Periapical Images (DIs) and Processed Digitized Periapical Images (PDIs) counterparts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty two intraoral periapical radiographs of patients with clinically suspected periapical pathosis were made to constitute the group of CRs. These were photographed by using a Canon Power Shot SD500 (7.1 Megapixel) digital camera and the unaltered images were transferred to a computer laptop, to form the group of DIs. Subsequently, the contrast and brightness of these images were modified to represent the group of PDIs. Two experienced oral radiologists independently evaluated 5 specific apical and periapical region parameters of all the 42 CRs, DIs and PDIs for perceived image quality and diagnostic value and graded them on a three point grading scale. Conventional radiographs served as the control. Data were analyzed by using paired t-test and Kappa analysis. RESULTS: The clarity and diagnostic quality of the PDIs were statistically significant as compared to those of their conventional counterparts. In comparison, the DIs group fared badly, with deterioration of the image quality. The interobserver agreement was good and all the results were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Indirectly digitizing the radiographs by employing a digital camera and further digitally processing the images resulted in an improvement in their perceived clarity and they enhanced their diagnostic properties.

Prevalence of zygomatic air cell defect in adults--a retrospective panoramic radiographic analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This research involved retrospectively evaluating panoramic radiographs of patients from India with the intention of assessing the prevalence of Zygomatic Air Cell Defect (ZACD) and establishing its dominant location and type. METHODS: Seven thousand seven hundred and fifty-five panoramic radiographs of routine outpatients aged between 19 and 91 years were concomitantly evaluated by four investigators for estimating the prevalence and characteristics of the Zygomatic Air Cell Defect. RESULTS: The prevalence of ZACD was noted to be 1.82%, with male preponderance. Unilateralality and multilocular appearance of ZACD were the dominant patterns observed. CONCLUSION: The frequency of ZACD amongst Indian population is in harmony with most of the similar studies conducted on various geographic populations.

Clinical audit in dentistry: From a concept to an initiation.

Clinical audit is a quality improvement process that aims to improve patient care through a systematic review of care against explicit criteria. It is a cyclic and multidisciplinary process which involves a series of steps from planning the audit through measuring the performance to implementing and sustaining the change. Although audit contains some facets of research, it is essential to understand the difference between the two. Auditing can be done right from the record maintaining, diagnosis and treatment and postoperative evaluation and follow-up. The immense potential of clinical audit can be utilized only when open-mindedness and innovativeness are encouraged and evidence-based work culture is cultivated.

Report of rare palatal expression of Nevus of Ota with amendment of Tanino's classification.

Nevus of Ota, a benign melanocytic pigmentary disorder with rare malignant transformation potential, affects 0.014-0.034% of the Asian and Black population and has a strong predilection for females. It occurs in the area innervated by the first and second division of the trigeminal nerve. Oral manifestation is rarely noted with only 14 cases reported till date. This report documents a case of Nevus of Ota with the infrequently noted oral involvement, in an Indian lady. Since oral manifestation is not acknowledged in Tanino's classification, the authors propose a modification to the same.

Rhinolith.

Rhinoliths are rare entities encountered in clinical practice. They are calcified masses found within the nasal cavity. Which lesions can be encountered incidentally upon a routine dental radiograph. This article reports a case of such an incidental finding of rhinolith on a dental radiograph.

Sublingual epidermoid cyst: a case report.

Of all the epidermoid cysts encountered throughout the body, only 7% occurs in the head and neck area, with the oral cavity accounting for only 1.6%. Intraorally this benign slow growing and painless entity is usually located in the submandibular, sublingual and submental region. They can cause symptoms of dysphagia and dyspnoea and have a malignant transformation potential. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice. Described here is a case of gigantic sublingual epidermoid cyst.