The pathogenesis of periapical lesions has not been fully elucidated. Currently, the possibility of its being an immunologic phenomenon is receiving much attention. This article presents a review of the literature concerning immunologic reactions which may involve periapical lesions. It appears that antigen-antibody complexes and IgE-mediated reactions can initiate preliminary changes in periap...

Nine hundred fifty-one emergency and 997 nonemergency patients seeking endodontic treatment were the basis of this study. Variables of interest were 10 pain descriptors, percussion and palpation tests, causative factors, and paired pulpal and periapical diagnoses. A higher number of patients suffering from symptomatic pulpal conditions sought emergency care. Odds of caries being a causative fac...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1) in periapical lesion samples correlated with the intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate and thickness of the epithelial lining. Forty-five cases of periapical lesions (23 periapical granulomas and 22 radicular cysts) were subjected to morphological and ...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of apical periodontitis in diabetes mellitus patients is high. The altered immunity in diabetes affects the healing process of periapical tissue. Single visit endodontic treatment has shown to increase the periapical healing rate with better patient compliance. Hence the present study aims at evaluating the clinical and radiographic healing outcome of single visit endo...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of dental implants placed immediately into extraction sites in the presence of chronic periapical pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS The charts of 655 patients who had implants immediately placed into fresh extraction sites were reviewed for the presence or absence of periapical radiolucencies. A total of 922 implants were included. ...

BACKGROUND Periapical lesions occur in response to chronic irritation in periapical tissue, generally resulting from an infected root canal. Specific etiological agents of induction, participating cell population and growth factors associated with maintenance and resolution of periapical lesions are incompletely understood. Among the cells found in periapical lesions, mast cells have been impli...

Pseudo-hermaphroditism is a rare condition which has much mystique to it. It is generally due to a deficiency of the enzyme 5α-reductase, responsible for the secretion and conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which, in turn, defines the external genitalia during embryonic development. As a result of this, individuals present with ambiguous external genitalia, and do not have a def...

Periapical cyst is a chronic inflammatory disorder of periradicular tissues. The precise pathological mechanisms involved in periapical cyst enlargement remain unclear. Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway with a regulatory role in cell fate decisions during development and in carcinogenesis. To date, there are no published data available on the expression of Notch signaling c...

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of valvular pathosis in a population of patients with SLE, to assess the candidacy of such patients for antibiotic prophylaxis before dental treatment. The hospital records of 112 patients with SLE were reviewed and screened for endocarditis, heart murmurs, and other valvular pathosis. Two of the 112 patients had confirmed cases of bacte...

INTRODUCTION Intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone (PTH) promotes oral osseous wound healing and protects against ligature-induced alveolar bone loss. However, its therapeutic value on periapical periodontitis is unknown. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of intermittent PTH administration on the progression of periapical periodontitis. METHODS Seven lymphotoxin ...