The art of medicine consist in amusing the patient, while nature cures the disease". Consuming a diet rich in plant food will provide a milieu of phytochemicals (non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties). The additive and synergistic effects of phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables are responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities, and that the benefit of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals present in whole foods. The aim of this paper is to highlight and discuss the importance of natural chemical substances available in fruits, vegetables and herbs as they interfere with multiple important cellular pathways and this property is utilized for the prevention and treatment of oral diseases.

Lycopene is a red colored fat soluble carotenoid, which gives tomatoes and several other fruits their deep red colour. It has shown potential role in prevention and cure of various systemic and oral diseases including malignancies due to its antioxidant and other cancer preventing properties. Lycopene with its 11 conjugated and 2 non conjugated double bonds is the most efficient singIet oxygen quencher and is considered most potent antioxidant among carotenoids. It has shown to be efficient in the management of oral cancer and precancer like leukoplakia and has shown the potential in the management of other oral mucosal lesions thought to arise due to free radical onslaught such as oral lichen planes.

Providing accurate health information is part of the basis for obtaining "informed consent" and is a recognized component of business ethics, safety communications, and case and product liability law. Remarkably, anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco sources alike have come to emphasise the message that there is "no safe cigarette" or "no safe tobacco product". The "no safe" message is so limited in its value that it represents a violation of the right to health relevant information. There is a need to go beyond the no safe tobacco product message, and the message should also indicate the components of tobacco, degree of risks involved, nicotine delivery systems so that the individuals can make the right health choice.

Leprosy predominantly affects the skin, peripheral nerves and mucous membranes. Facial lesions in leprosy can occur in all forms of the disease and in lepra reactions, but oral lesions usually occur in the lepromatous leprosy. Presence of facial lesions leads to early diagnosis but they also present some diagnostic challenges. In this review article an overview of all oro - facial manifestations of the disease has been dealt in brief.

An allergic reaction also known as a hypersensitivity reaction is caused by the immune system in response to a foreign substance (or allergen). Allergenic chemicals can be found in many products used in the dental operatory. With repeated exposure, these chemicals can cause allergic reactions in dental professionals, resulting in local as well as systemic manifestations. According to various studies done, it became evident that the prevalence of acrylic allergy most commonly in the form of allergic contact dermatitis is affecting the dental personnel to a much greater degree than is believed. Awareness of this disease complex in the form of any new symptoms and potential exposure is paramount for dental personals.

Epulis is a relatively common gingival swelling and is often due to inflammation. It is seen more commonly in females. A careful clinical examination followed by thorough radiographic investigation is required to rule out lesions such as peripheral ossifying fibroma which depicts calcifications. Here we present three cases which have a relatively similar clinical picture but varied in there radiographic and histopathologic appearance. The management and post treatment follow up of the cases are also discussed in detail.

We all take special care when holding a tiny baby. This is partly because we know that "babies" head is particularly vulnerable, as it is still 'soft' and the protective skull is yet forming. Skull growth continues until late adolescence and its proper functioning is crucial. Craniosynostosis, an inherited genetic condition, is characterized by the premature closure of sutures of the skull with effects that are wide - ranging and potentially devastating. Normally sutures and fontanelles allow the bones of the cranial vault to overlap during birth thus acting as an expansion joint, enabling the bone to enlarge evenly as the brain grows resulting in a symmetrically shaped skull. However, craniosynostosis occurs due to mutation in Homeobox gene - MSX2 and ALX4 or Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR 1,2,3) gene, thus explaining for its association with Apert, Crouzon, Chotzen, Pteiffers and carpenter syndromes.

Supernumerary teeth are those that are additional to the normal complement. They may develop in any region of dental arch, but are most common in the anterior maxilla. Even though many have described supernumerary teeth, little work has been conducted to determine the incidence of supernumerary teeth in the population of Kerala, India. The following study was conducted in an attempt to find out the incidence of supernumerary teeth in patients reporting to the Dental College Trivandrum. Out of 28192 patients screened 83 patients had supernumerary teeth giving an incidence of 3%. The observations of the preliminary study may form a base line data for further work in this field.

Eagle's syndrome, also known as elongated styloid process syndrome, is a condition that may be the source of craniofacial and cervical pain. The styloid process is a slender bony projection arising from the lower surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone. It has been estimated that between 2% to 28% of the general adult population has radiographic evidence of elongated styloid process. In adults, the mean radiographic length of the styloid process is 20 to 30 mm and its tip is located between the external and internal carotid arteries, just lateral to the tonsillar fossa. This study was done to evaluate the elongation of the styloid process and/or ligament ossification by using panoramic radiographs. Both ossification of stylohyoid and stylomandibular ligaments and truly elongated styloid process were defined as elongated styloid process. Elongated styloid processes should be kept in mind when the clinician is faced with oropharyngeal/ maxillary pain originating from impacted or unerupted third molars or dental caries.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune disorder manifesting primarily as blisters involving the mucocutaneous systems. The current medical literature indicates many breakthroughs in the research of pathophysiology and treatment aspects of PV. This article tries to describe some of the novel aspects briefing the role of nondesmoglein antibodies and the role of TNF-alpha in the etiopathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris and the role of newer therapeutic modalities like Rituximab, Etanercept, intravenous Immunoglobulins, cholinergic drugs, arid the like in the treatment of PV.

We performed a pilot study to compare the digitized images of panoramic radiographs with the original film images for perceived clarity and diagnostic quality, and to make comparison amongst the digitized film images captured by a digital camera at different resolution settings to assess if differences in clarity and/or diagnostic quality existed. Eight orthopantomograms were photographed using a digital camera, Nikon Finepix S7000, at four different resolution settings - 1 M pix, 3 M pix, 6M pix and 12 M pix respectively. These thirty two digital images were transferred to a laptop computer, Acer Travelmate 290 E, saved as JPEG files and viewed using 'Planmeca Dimaxis' software. Five observers made comparison between the film and digitized images and also amongst the images digitized with various pixel strengths. Images were ranked for clarity and diagnostic quality. Data was analyzed using statistical tests. Results indicated no significant difference in clarity and diagnostic quality between conventional radiographs and their corresponding digitized images. The images digitized with the highest resolution were better than those digitized with the other lower resolutions.

Digital imaging has changed the scenario of medical and dental imaging as it has been able to address many limitations associated with traditional film based radiograph. However, subtle changes on the image are still difficult to appreciate by the human eye because the changes are buried in a background of normal anatomic structures, and are not clearly evident. Digital subtraction radiography is one of the image enhancing technique which addresses this problem and has found its use in various fields of dentistry in the recent past. However, there is lack of review in the literature regarding this widely used technique. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of this technique and its uses in various fields of dentistry.

Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT) is a relatively uncommon odontogenic neoplasm, first described by Steensland in 1905. Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor accounts for about 3-7 % of all odontogenic tumors. Predominantly found in young female patients, located more often in the maxillary anterior region, associated with an unerupted permanent tooth, mainly in the second decade. There are three variants: follicular, extra follicular & extra osseous. Irrespective of the type they show similar histological appearance with gland like structures, calcifying areas and amyloid like material. We present a case of follicular adenomatoid odontogenic tumor of the mandible, in a 23-year-old female patient associated with, unerupted lower left permanent canine.

Tuberculosis is most common disease in developing countries because of lack of public health awareness, poverty, nutritional deficiencies, absence of medical facilities. Primary oral lesions in tuberculosis are still exceedingly rare. Oral involvement may be primary or secondary to systemic involvement. Involvement of oral cavity is rare accounting for 0.2-1.5% of cases. A rare case report of primary oral tuberculosis is presented.

Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a mucocutaneous disorder caused by DNA virus of the Pox family affecting both the children and adults. MCV remains by far the most common pox viral pathogen for humans after the eradication of Small pox variola virus ⁽¹⁾ . We herewith report 2 cases of perioral MC in HIV seropositive patients with an emphasis on cytology in diagnosis and an overview of various treatment modalities applicable to MC.

Odontogenic keratocyst is a cyst of dental lamina origin with a high recurrence rate and well defined histologic criteria. Radiographically, odontogenic keratocyst presents as a unilocular or multilocular radiolucency of the jaws. Its capacity for aggressive growth and recurrence even after many years makes it an entity of special interest. Recently, neoplastic transformations have also been reported. They must therefore be distinguished from other cysts and tumors of the jaws. We report a case of fortuitous bilobular radiolucency in the left ascending ramus of a patient, who reported with a clinical presentation of submandibular space cellulitis.

The dentigerous cyst is the second most common type of odontogenic cyst. Dentigerous cyst originates after the crown of tooth has been completely fonned, by accumulation of fluid between reduced enamel epithelium and tooth ¹ crown. The cyst is always associated initially with the crown of impacted, embedded or unerupted tooth. The most common sites are mandibular and maxillary third molars and maxillary canine." In this article two cases of dentigerous cysts involving maxilla with unusual presentations are discussed.

Centrally occurring salivary gland neoplasms of the jaws are rare. Although several histologic types including mixed tumors, trabecular adenoma , adenoid cystic carcinoma have been reported , there is a general agreement that MEC is the most common salivary gland tumors found in intraosseous location An analysis of one case , its clinical and histologic characteristics , as well as discussion regarding its probable histogenesis and suggestions for clinical staging has been included

Squamous cell carcinoma arising primarily within the jawbones is a very rare entity. Only 46 such cases have been reported in the English literature till date. Avery large de novo primary intraosseous carcinoma (PIOC), which presented with features of an infected odontogenic tumour, and diagnosed by FNAC is reported here. Literature is reviewed and features of the lesion discussed.

Paper reports a case of Massetric muscle cysticercosis diagnosed on sonography. Clinically patient presented with a solitary lesion, was considered to be a benign cyst, a tumor of mesenchymal tissue or salivary gland?, Lesions in the maxillo-facial region may present first to a dentist and, in endemic areas, cysticercosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of solitary nodular lesions of the oral cavity even though they are considerably rare.

Salivary calculi are a common cause of salivary gland disorder and may occur in any of the salivary glands and at almost any age. The stones may be small and intraductal or may lie within the gland substance. They cause symptoms by obstructing salivary flow. Diagnosis is usually straightforward and treatment is aimed at stone removal. Our article presents a review on submandibular sialoliths covering the aetiology, diagnosis and various treatment modalities available for management of salivary gland calculi depending on their site and size, alongwith a case report of an intraductal stone removed intraorally.

There are conflicting opinions about the origin of ameloblastoma, probably one of the most controversial neoplasms, from an odontogenic cyst (mural ameloblastoma). A unique case of ameloblastomatous transformation of an Odontogenic Keratocyst, an extremely rare phenomenon is reported.

Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) belongs to a group of disorders collectively known as the phakomatoses ("mother-spot" diseases). It consists of congenital hamartomatous malformations that may affect the eye, skin, and central nervous system at different times. Sturge-Weber syndrome is rare. It is present at birth in about 1 in every 50,000 babies. SWS is classified into complete trisymptomatic SWS when all 3 organ systems are involved, incomplete bisymptomatic SWS when the involvement is either oculocutaneous or neurocutaneous, and incomplete monosymptomatic SWS when there is only neural or cutaneous involvement. Patients with no cutaneous involvement appear to be spared from the ocular manifestations of the syndrome. Presenting a case report of this rare disorder in a 26 year old male, who presented with lip enlargement.

Transmigration, a phenomenon of an unerupted canine crossing the midline is very rarely found and has no definite etiology. The condition more commonly affect females and that too with left canine undergoing transmigration commonly. A case of transmigrated mandibular canine in a 17 yrs young female with a review of literature, a discussion of etiology and treatment options has been presented.

Ewing's Sarcoma is a highly lethal round cell sarcoma of unknown etiology that was first described by 'James Ewing' in 1921. Ewing's sarcoma is one of the most aggressive bone tumors known and accounts for 4-7% of primary bone malignancies. It tends to affect the long bones; nearly 50% of the reported cases have occurred in the femur or pelvic bones. Only 2-7% of cases involve the maxillofacial region, usually involving the mandible ramus, and a few reported cases have involved the maxilla. Ewing's sarcoma usually develops during the first two decades of life, and affects males twice as often as females. Approximately 90% of reported cases occurring in the mandible have been primary lesions, and 10% have been metastasis. Here, we report a case of Ewing's sarcoma occurring primarily in the mandibular ramus of a 18 year old male patient with emphasis on histopathological findings and imaging.

Adenomatoid Odontogenic tumor is an uncommon tumor of odontogenic origin, characterized histologically by formation of duct like structures by epithelial component and amyloid-like deposits'. Adenomatoid Odontogenic tumor accounts for about only 0.1 % of tumours and cyst of the jaw and 3% of all odontogenic tumours ² . Adenomatoid Odontogenic tumor has a benign behaviour and conservative surgical enucleation is sufficient and the prognosis is excellent ³ . A unique case of Adenomatoid Odontogenic tumor in the mandible is discussed herewith.