Background:It is now known that the disease process of diabetes has effects on various tissues of the body. The following study was done to analyze the effects of diabetes on oral tissues.Aims:To study the morphology and cytomorphometry of the cells obtained in cytologic smears from the buccal mucosa of diabetic patients.Materials and Methods:Smears were obtained from clinically normal buccal mucosa of 50 randomly selected diabetic patients attending the diabetic clinic and the out-patient department and of five healthy subjects as control. Smears were stained using Papanicolaou method, and using a micrometer mean values of nuclear diameter (ND), cell diameter (CD), cytoplasmic diameter (CyD) and nucleus: cytoplasm ratio (N: C ratio) were obtained for each patient. Diabetic patients were divided into four groups based on the glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) values for comparison.Statistical analysis used:Student’s T-test and Fisher’s F-test.Results:Statistically significant increase in ND (P=0.0367) was found in diabetic patients compared to controls. Degree of glycemic control significantly affected ND (P=0.0042) and N: C ratio (P=0.0055). In general, as the severity of diabetes increases, ND and N: C ratio rise gradually.Conclusions:Diabetes produces definite morphologic and cytomorphometric changes in the buccal mucosa of patients. However, further research in this direction is indicated, to analyze the significance of these findings as a tool for diabetes detection, as well as to obtain deeper insights into its effects on various tissues.

Context:The commonly occurring oral neoplasm -Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) has an association with the chronic inflammation in the adjacent connective tissue. Mast cells are the local residents of the connective tissue. They are said to be pro inflammatory and immune-amplifying in action and they produce mitogenic cytokines. They exhibit a phenotypic plasticity with a change in the microenvironment, thus making the role of the mast cells in this disease even more intriguing. Mast cells have also been reported to play a role in tumour progression and metastases by promoting angiogenesis.Aims: The present study aimed at comparing the Mast Cell Density (MCD) in the Normal Oral Mucosa (NM) and among the various grades of OSCC and at analyzing the possible role of the mast cells. Settings and Design:The MCD was assessed by using the 1% Toluidine blue stain in a study sample of 102 cases of different grades of OSCC and in 07 cases of clinically normal oral mucosa.Statistical Analysis Used: By using the Student's 't' test and one way ANOVA, the Mast Cell Density (MSD) was found to be significantly higher in well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and in moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma as compared to that in the poorly differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma (P=< 0.01) which was significant at a 1% level. The Spearman's Rank Correlation Co-efficient revealed a significant correlation between the density of the mast cells and the increasing grade of the OSCC. Conclusions:These findings denote that as the squamous cell carcinoma enters the poorly differentiated state, there may be some change which is reflected as a decrease in the mast cell density.

Objective:To correlate dimensions of root transparency and age, and to assess whether transparency is reliable for age estimation of unknown.Materials and Methods:50 freshly extracted single rooted permanent teeth from 50 different individuals (27 males and 23 females) were collected and their ground sections of 400 μm were stained with 1% methylene blue. The area of the translucent zone was measured by superimposing a transparent graph paper on the ground section under stereomicroscope. The length of the translucency was measured by using digital vernier caliper.Results:A strong positive correlation between age and translucency of dentin was noted. The length rather than the area of the translucent zone correlated more with age.Conclusion:Translucency of the root dentin increases with age and it can be used as a reliable parameter for the age estimation.

Background:Dentin translucency is best suited for age estimation not only in terms of accuracy but also in terms of simplicity. Conventionally, translucency has been measured using calipers. Computer-based methods have been proposed for the same, although these required the use of custom-built software programs.Objectives:The objectives of the study were to use a simple digital method to measure dentinal translucency on sectioned teeth and to compare digital measurements to conventionally obtained translucency measurements.Materials and Methods:Fifty extracted permanent teeth were collected and were sectioned to 250 μm. Translucency measurements were obtained using the digital method and compared with those obtained using a caliper.Results:Correlation coefficients of translucency measurements to age were statistically significant for both methods (P < 0.001), and marginally higher for the conventional approach (r = 0.4671). Application of derived linear regression equations on an independent sample (n = 10) revealed a similar ability of both the methods to assess age to within ±5 years of the actual age.Conclusion:The translucency measurements obtained by the two methods were very similar, with no clear superiority of one method over the other. Hence, further studies on a large scale are warranted to determine which method is more reliable to estimate the age.

Oral melanoacanthoma is rare pigmented mucosal lesion that presents most commonly on the buccal mucosa, characterized by sudden appearance and rapid radial growth, thus clinically mimicking malignant melanoma. It was originally described as a mixed tumor of melanocytes and keratinocytes, but appears to be a reactive process; formed in areas prone to trauma, and regressing after the removal of trauma or incomplete excision. The clinical appearance of oral melanoacanthoma is nondiagnostic, and biopsy is mandatory to rule out malignancy. We report a case of melanoacanthoma of a rarer oral mucosal site in a 12-year-old Asian male. A brief review of the current literature is also presented.How to cite this article: Rohilla K, Ramesh V, Balamurali PD, Singh N. Oral Melanoacanthoma of a Rare Intraoral Site: Case Report and Review of Literature. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2013;6(1):40-43.