Myofibroblasts are the unique population of smooth muscle-like fibroblasts. These cells have a role in growth factors secretion, matrix deposition and degradation. Thereby, myofibroblast contributes in both human physiology and pathology. This review explains the myofibroblastic lesions, imperative role of myofibroblasts in organogenesis, repair, regeneration, inflammation and tumorigenesis.

Gemination or Schizodontism is a developmental anomaly affecting the tooth shape which is often confused with fusion. It affects primary dentition more often than permanent. It is a rare occurrence in the posterior teeth. Its etiology, pathogenesis, prevalence, differential diagnosis and management are discussed and a rare case of gemination of maxillary premolar is reported here.

Introduction:Type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) is an endocrine disorder that occurs commonly in an age group, where the development of primary and permanent dentition takes place. As altered endocrine functions may affect the shape and size of teeth leading to dental anomalies, this study was conducted to look for the occurrence of any dental anomalies in type I DM patients.Materials and Methods:A diabetic camp was conducted at Alur Chandrashekharappa Memorial Hospital, Davangere, where 30 diabetic patients were examined and the impressions of their maxillary and mandibular arches were recorded. Age and sex matched controls were selected randomly, and similar recordings were done.Results:Type I diabetic patients showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) morphological alterations of total number of cusps, including presence of 6th cusp in mandibular molars and extra cusps in mandibular premolars. Other alterations such as microdontia, flower shaped mandibular molars, prominent cusp of carabelli, and oblique ridge in maxillary molars were also noted. Severe attrition was found in 11 (36.6%) of the diabetic patients, whereas the control group showed attrition only in 2 (6.8%) patients.Conclusion:Remarkable morphological alterations do occur in the dentition of type I DM patients.

Tumors of the oral cavity include combinations of hard and soft tissues that may be difficult to identify using routine hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining. Although combination stains can demonstrate hard and soft tissues, trichrome stains, such as VanGieson and Masson, cannot differentiate dental hard tissues, such as dentin, cementum and osteoid. Modified Gallegos (MGS) and verdeluz orange G-acid fuchsin (VOF) stains can differentiate components of teeth. We used 10 tissue sections of decalcified bone and 10 pathologic tissue sections that contained different calcified tissues including peripheral ossifying fibroma, odontoma, central ossifying fibroma and cemento-ossifying fibroma. Sections were stained with H & E, VOF or MGS. H and E stained both hard tissues pink. VOF stained bone purple-red, cementum red and collagen blue. MGS stained bone green-blue, cementum red and collagen blue. VOF staining intensity and differentiation was better than MGS staining. VOF staining demonstrated hard tissue components distinctly and exhibited good contrast with the surrounding connective tissue. VOF also is a simple, single step, rapid staining procedure.

Lymphomas of the oral cavity are rare and represent only 3%–5% of all lymphomas. Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) are a heterogeneous group of tumor and the most common type of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs). They mostly arise from soft tissue as asymptomatic swelling and involvement of jaw bones is infrequent. We present a case of a 23-year-old patient who developed DLBCL in oral cavity region 4 months after blunt trauma. The patient lacked other physical symptoms at the time of presentation. Histopathology, bone marrow and immunohistochemistry revealed DLBCL. After chemotherapy of eight cycles, swelling was totally reduced and no relapse observed in 10 months’ follow-up period. Thus, the present report represents an example of possible rapport between trauma and unresolved soft-tissue swelling which may be caused by NHLs.