Current smokers had higher fraction of teeth with apical periodontitis (AP) than never-smokers (0.13 vs. 0.10; P = 0.025), while fractions of endodontically treated teeth and endodontically treated teeth with AP did not differ significantly. When overall number of teeth was controlled for, smokers were 16.4 times more likely to have AP than a non-smokers (95% CI: 5.7-47.7; P < 0.001) and if a person was male, he was 3.1 times more likely to have AP than if the person was female (95% CI: 1.1-8.9; P = 0.039). The probability of AP increases with increase of age. Smokers will on average have two teeth with AP more than non-smokers, while controlling for gender, age and overall number of teeth.

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The word, empathy, comes from the Greek word "empatheia," meaning appreciation of another person's feelings. For health professionals and patient care, empathy is recognised as an important factor that includes the ability to understand the patient's pain and suffering, capability to communicate, understanding the patient and intention to help. 1

Childhood diseases are a continuous source of interest in all areas of general and dental medicine. Congenital, developmental, and hereditary diseases may either be present upon birth or appear in early childhood. Developmental anomalies, although often asymptomatic, may become grounds for different infections. Furthermore, they can indicate certain systemic disorders. Childhood age frequently brings about benign tumors and different types of traumatic lesions to the oral mucosa. Traumatic lesions can be caused by chemical, mechanical, or thermal injury. Mucocele and ranula are, by definition, traumatic injuries of the salivary glands or their ducts. Recurrent aphthous lesions are the most common type of ulcerations in childhood, and their etiology is considered multifactorial. Oral mucosal lesions in children require different treatment approaches depending on etiological factors and clinical presentation. Clinicians should have adequate knowledge of oral anatomy in order to diagnose and treat pathological conditions.