Oral cancer awareness among future dental practitioners may have an impact on the early detection and prevention of oral cancer. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to assess the current knowledge of future Saudi dentists on oral cancer and their opinions on oral cancer prevention. A pretested questionnaire was sent to 550 undergraduate dental students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth year of the Al-Farabi College for Dentistry and Nursing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Questions relating to knowledge of oral cancer, risk factors, and opinions on oral cancer prevention and practices were posed. Four hundred seventy-nine students returned the questionnaire (87.1 %). Eighty-one percent of respondents correctly answered questions relating to oral cancer awareness. Eighty-seven percent of respondents felt confident in performing a systematic oral examination to detect changes consistent with oral malignancy. Interestingly, 57 % of respondents had seen the use of oral cancer diagnostics aids. Thirty-seven percent of respondents felt inadequately trained to provide tobacco and alcohol cessation advice. There is a need to reinforce the undergraduate dental curriculum with regards to oral cancer education; particularly in its prevention and early detection. Incorporating the use of oral cancer diagnostic aids should be made mandatory.

Oral pigmentation may present as focal, multifocal or diffused macular or tumefactive lesions. They may greatly vary in color as blue, purple, brown, gray or black depending on the quantity and site of melanin in the tissues [1]. Etiology of pigmentation can be multi factorial. Mostly pigmentation is physiologic but at times it can be a precursor of severe diseases. Lesions may be caused by localized harmless accumulations of melanin, hemosiderin or exogenous metals or they may be a sign of underlying systemic or genetic disease. A few lesions may be associated with life-threatening medical conditions that require immediate intervention. The differential diagnosis for any pigmented lesion is extensive, as it includes examples of endogenous and exogenous pigmentations. Although biopsy is a helpful and necessary aid in the diagnosis of focally pigmented lesions, with diffuse pigmentation lesions require a thorough dental and medical history and laboratory investigations.

Calcifying cystic odontogenic tumour (CCOT) has been classified as an odontogenic tumour. Ghost cell odontogenic carcinoma (GCOC) is the malignant counterpart of CCOT. This paper aims to review the literature regarding malignant transformation of CCOT.A literature search was done via the National Library of Medicine PubMed interface, searching for articles relating to malignant transformation of CCOT. From these articles, references were obtained, and from their references lists, pertinent secondary references were also identified and acquired.After reviewing the literature, we found 26 cases of GCOC which developed from CCOT. Malignant transformation of CCOT was seen more commonly in the maxilla. Histologically, changes such as increased nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio, atypical mitotic figures have been reported after malignant transformation. Immunohistochemical analysis has shown an increased expression of ki-67 and p53 in tumour cells.Malignant transformation of CCOT, although rare, mostly takes place in recurrent and long standing cases.

The prevalence of mental disorders was slight high. The rates of untreated mental disorders necessitate the healthcare makers in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to implement efficient strategies to halt the progression of untreated mental disorders.

Background: Dry mouth is usually caused by a reduced salivary flow or by changes in the biochemical composition of saliva. Objective: The aim of this paper is a review of the update literature of dry mouth. Methods: We search in pubmed in the past 10 years using the words «dry mouth», «causes», «symptoms», «treatment» and «dentistry». A large number of papers have been identified. Papers not relevant to the issue were removed reducing the entries to 56 only. Results: There are no clearly established protocols for the treatment of dry mouth in the literature. Most of identified papers were systematic reviews, non-systematic reviews, and observational studies. The most studied patients were Sjögren's syndrome and the irradiated patients. Treatments are focused on the etiology, prevention, symptomatic, local salivary stimulation and systemic treatments. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is no clear evidence for the causes and treatment of dry mouth, therefore the majority of the general dental practitioners refer most of the cases to appropriate specialist. Treatment must be individualized, salivary substitutes and mechanical stimulation techniques can be applied.