Ultrashort sintered porous-surfaced dental implants used to replace posterior teeth.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective multicenter report provides data from a case series of partially edentulous subjects treated with an ultrashort (5-mm-long) sintered porous-surfaced (SPS) dental implant. METHODS: The implant used had a tapered truncated cone shape, was 5-mm long, and had a maximal coronal diameter of 5 mm. Twenty-six implants were placed in 20 subjects to replace primarily maxillary and mandibular molar teeth. Submerged primary healing was used. Nine implants were restored with single crowns, one carried a single cantilever, and the remaining 16 implants were part of fixed implant-supported bridges, generally as the most distal abutment. RESULTS: After functional periods of 1 to 8 years, two maxillary implants failed, giving maxillary and mandibular failure rates of 14.3% and 0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of this case series suggest that an SPS, press-fit, tapered dental implant with a length of 5 mm and a maximal coronal diameter of 5 mm should be investigated further as a solution for the management of highly resorbed posterior sites in partial edentulism, particularly in the mandible.

Oral focal mucinosis: report of 15 cases and review of the literature.

AIMS: To describe 15 cases of oral focal mucinosis (OFM) and compare these to previously reported cases. METHODS: Cases diagnosed as OFM in the period 1981-2003-were reviewed. Clinical information provided at the time of submission of each specimen was retrieved and supplemented by additional clinical details provided by the respective clinician at the time of compilation of this paper. The literature was reviewed. RESULTS: OFM presented as an innocuous soft tissue swelling that may be either pedunculated or sessile. The gingiva was confirmed as the most common site for OFM, with a predominance of females affected. Microscopically, OFM is characterised by an area of myxoid tissue which is usually well-defined. The lesion is periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-negative and alcian blue-positive, with pre-digestion with hyaluronidase preventing the alcian blue staining. As the differential diagnosis includes myxoid neural lesions, S100 staining is important in establishing the diagnosis, with cases of OFM being negative. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of OFM remains unknown. The cases presented in this paper bring OFM to the attention of anatomical pathologists when considering the differential diagnosis of myxoid lesions of the oral cavity.