Background: Mucoceles and ranulas are common benign lesions of salivary gland origin. Different techniques had been described for their treatment; however, most of them are invasive. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of micro-marsupialization in the treatment of mucoceles and ranulas. Methods: The study was conducted on 18 patients with lower lip mucocele and 8 patients with ranula of the floor of the mouth. After topical anesthesia, the lesion was punctured by 3/000 black silk suture and followed for evaluation of healing. Results: Complete resolution was noted in 83.33% (15/18) of cases of mucoceles and three recurrent lesions were surgically excised. In 80% (12/15) of the cases, the healing accomplished within one week, 13.33% (2/15) of the cases showed complete healing within two weeks and only one case (6.67%) healed within three weeks which was associated with infection. On the other hand, complete resolution of ranula lesions was noted in six cases and only two cases showed recurrences and then a complete surgical excision of the lesions with associated sublingual salivary glands was performed. In 66.67% (4/6) of cases the healing was achieved within one week, 16.67% (1/6) of cases showed complete healing within two weeks and 16.67% (1/6) of cases showed complete healing within three weeks which was associated with bleeding. Conclusion: Micromarsupialization is simple and good noninvasive treatment option for mucoceles and ranulas and is well-tolerated by the patients with minimal recurrence rate of the lesions.

Background: lip lengthening procedure is one of the surgical options for the correction of gummy smile in patients with short upper lip. Methods: A comparative clinical study was conducted on 15 patients requiring lip lengthening procedure for the esthetic correction of excessive gingival exposure with gummy smile. Scalpel was used in seven patients and diode laser in the remaining eight patients. Under infiltration anesthesia, about one cm strip of mucosa was excised at the vestibular depth and the mucosa of the lip was sutured to the alveolar mucosa. Results: The diode laser group demonstrated less postoperative pain and swelling. Regarding postoperative ecchymosis, three patients in the scalpel group developed ecchymosis and no cases were noted in the laser group, the difference was statistically significant. No patient in the laser group developed wound dehiscence and only one patient in the scalpel group had wound dehiscence at third postoperative day. Observed at one month postoperatively, the laser treated groups had less obvious scar than the scalpel group. Conclusion: Diode laser is a valuable tool in performing lip lengthening for gummy smile.

The mental foramen is a very important anatomical landmark and knowledge about it is very important, especially in dentistry, because it transfers the mental nerve and vessels. The aim of the present research was to study the position, shape, and distance of MF from surrounding anatomical structures using a panoramic radiograph of dentate adult patients. The study was carried on 867 panoramic images of patients of 20-54 years of age. Data were collected and studied for determining the position, shape, and distance of the right and left MF in relation to the gender and age group. The most common horizontal position for mental foramen was found to be in between the apices of first and second premolar, and inferior to the apex of the related tooth. The shape was mainly round, and statistical analysis showed a significant relation with the gender and non-significant relation with the age group (p<0.05).The distance between the superior limit of the alveolar crest to the upper margin of the mental foramen, between the inferior limit of the mandible to the lower margin of the mental foramen, and between the mesial borders to the midline for females was less than the males. Statistical analysis showed a significant relation with the gender and the age group regarding these distances (p<0.05). In conclusion, The Knowledge about the exact location of the mental foramina and its variations is very important and can help the surgeon to plan surgical procedures properly.