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AIM: The aim of this retrospective study was to describe our 15-year experience in the management of primary ameloblastoma of the jaw. METHODS: We investigated 26 patients who had undergone surgical treatment for a single lesion, comprising six lesions of the maxillary bone and 20 tumors of the mandible: 73% had a radiolucent multilocular lesion; 23% a unicystic lesion; and 4% had an extraosseous form of the tumor. The smaller lesions (diameter

Giant cell tumor is a rare non-odontogenic lesion that represents approximately 4-5% of all primary bone tumors. Such lesions derive their actual name from the constant presence of numerous giant cells, similar to osteoclasts .All the giant cell tumors hystorically is treated with curettage. Because this conservative approach is often associated with a recurrence rate of up to 70% , aggressive resection has become the standard practice. Unfortunately ,recurrence after wide resection is about 7%. The aim of the study is to describe the 14 years single institution experience with management of primary non-aggressive giant cell tumor of the jaws bone.

Sweet's syndrome is an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis characterized by fever, neutrophilia and erythematous skin lesions. This disease typically occurs as a reactive event in response to infective, inflammatory or neoplastic processes. The aim of this work was to describe a rare case of Sweet's syndrome induced by dental removable partial denture using a CoCr alloy.

The oral cavity is exposed to chronic or recurrent, physical and chemical trauma that could lead to mucosal reactions (e.g. hyperplasia, dysplasia and tumors). The objective of this study is to investigate the expression and the possible changes of the two matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 in normal and pathological human oral mucosa samples. Normal oral mucosa samples and three different types of pathological conditions (hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma) were used for this study. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to evaluate protein expression for the two enzymes, while Reverse Transcription ? Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was used to investigate gene expression. Image analysis was used to give a quantitative evaluation of the immunohistochemical data. In control samples we identified a weak expression of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the epithelial layers. In hyperplasia samples MMPs expression is limited to epithelial layers but the immunoreactivity is more intense than in the control. In dysplasia and carcinoma samples the two matrix metalloproteases are expressed not only in epithelium but also in some cells of the connective tissue and in the vessel walls. Qualitative RT-PCR and image analysis confirmed the immunohistochemical data. The results obtained in this study suggest the existence of a possible relationship between the entity of morphological disorganization of the oral mucosa in different pathologies and the increase of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression

Central giant cell granuloma ( CGCG ), is a fibro-osseous lesion. The majority of lesions are observed in the mandible and mainly in children and young adults, more often in females than in males. This lesion, which the pathogenesis still remains obscure, appears as radiolucency, well or ill-defined, uni or multilocular with trabeculations coursing through the lesion. Histologic study shows giant cells, fibroblastic cells, and foci of hemorrhage and osteoid tissue. On the basis of clinical, radiological and histologic features, central giant cell granulomas can be classified as "non-aggressive" or "aggressive"; the histomorphometric analysis prove a significant increase in large giant cells, fractional surface area, and mitotic activity in aggressive CGCG lesions. Immunohistologic investigation (Ki-67 and p53 stain) reveal no significant differences. The patients with aggressive lesions show aggressive growth, pain, massive swelling, root resorption, cortical perforation, and/or recurrence. Clinical and histomorphometric features may be reliable indicators for the differentiation between aggressive and nonaggressive CGCG. This should be accounted for to improve the individual planning of the treatment and follow-up. Alternative treatments are worthy of consideration, although surgical excision remains the treatment of choice.

lo sviluppo della odontoiatria amplia la possibilità di interventi di chirurgia orale anche in contesto ambulatoriale; questo impone una attenta valutazione dei rischi, delle possibili complicazioni e dei vantaggi per il paziente; queste informazioni devono essere effettivamente comprese dal paziente, affinchè si costruisca un valido consenso; questa modalità di comunicazione contribuisce alla fiducia posta nel sanitario e nell’équipe terapeutica, ed è alla base della alleanza terapeutica; sotto il profilo legale, si ritiene che l’informazione, ancor prima della realizzazione del contratto di cura, sia una obbligazione vincolante per il sanitario/i. Occorre dunque sviluppare sistematicamente una sempre più efficace modalità di approccio nella comunicazione al paziente.

Bisphosphonates are bone-turnover modulating drugs used to treat various diseases such as certain cancers, bone metastasis, bone- and calcium-related disorders, Paget`s disease, osteoporosis and osteopenia. Recently, several preliminary reports have reported the insurgence of osteonecrosis of the mandible and/or maxilla, associated with intravenously administered bisphosphonates. This case series describes the effects of bisphosphonates used in the treatment of certain cancers on oral bone tissues.

Eosinophilic granuloma is a proliferation of Langerhans cells in the bones that most commonly involving the skeletal system. The disease generally affects children or young adults with predominance in males and it is characterized by a single or multiple skeletal lesions. This study describes a few cases of mandibular Eosinophilic Granuloma and the effects of surgical curettage of lesions

Introduction. The oral cavity contains many structures compressed in a small area. It is exposed to chronic or recurrent, physical and chemical trauma leading to mucosal reactions (e.g. hyperplasia, dysplasia and tumors). For a long time, our group has been studying the expression of some metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-9) in healthy and pathological human oral mucosa through immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR to investigate the entity of the remodelling process in the different cases. Matherials and Methods. In this paper we investigate a sample of normal oral mucosa and four pathological samples (mucocele, fibroma, dysplasia and carcinoma). We identified the localization of MMP-2 and MMP-9 through immunohistochemistry and gene expression through RT-PCR analysis. Results. In control sample we identified a weak expression of both metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-9) in the upper epithelial layers. The reactivity of the two enzymes is emphasized with higher intensity in pathological samples where a strong inflammatory activity is present (e.g. hyperplasia, dysplasia) or where there is a distruption of the architecture (as in tumors) while in localized lesions a functional silence is detected (mucocele). Particularly, in lesions like hyperplasia and dysplasia where (though it is present a inflammatory condition) the bio-architecture is preserved, the immunoreactivity is expressed only in the upper epithelial cell layers; while in more serious lesions (like tumors), where the architecture is fully disorganizated, the immunoreactivity is expressed also in deeper epithelial layers, in few connnective cells and in vessels wall. Qualitative RT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in both normal and pathological oral mucosa samples. Conclusions. Our data suggest that there is a relationship between the increase of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression and the entity of morphological disorganization according with the well known role of these enzymes.

Prostaglandins (PG) are chemical mediators for most physiological and pathological responses ,including cytoprotection of the gastric mucosa, blood coagulation,inflammation and pain (1,2,3). E2 Prostaglandins (PG2) play an important role of pathogenesis of periodontal diseases, since PG2 determines vasodilatation and increased vascular permeability, oedema and erythema.Therefore,it is not surprising to find high levels of PG2 in inflamed gingival tissues.Indeed ,in inflamed gingival tissue,PG2 levels of the Gingival Fluid (GCF) are known to be higher in periodontitis than in healthy gingiva.Moreover ,in different parodontitis the high PG2 level of the GCF is related to periodontal ligament loss.The pathogenesis of the periodontitis can be due to the high PG2activation of the Matrix Metal-Protease (MMP),which is synthesized by monocites and fibroblasts.Consequently,destruction of connective tissue on a large scale takes place.The aim of this research is two-fold: To test COX-2 expression in the human espulsi and study its involvement in the PG2 synthesis and to find a alternative therapy to treat gingival diseases.

In this study we investigated the in vitro behaviour, morphostructure and extracellular matrix synthesis of human dental follicular stem cells (hDFSCs) isolated from human dental bud, which resulted to be positive for mesenchymal markers (CD29, CD90, CD146 and CD166) by FACS analysis. Cells were analysed by light and electronic microscopy to evaluate their biological response either at week 1, that is before differentiation, or at weeks 3-6, when they had been cultured in osteogenic medium onto a highly porous natural scaffold material (Bio-Oss). Microscopy analysis of primary culture cells showed they had a mesenchymal stem cell-like morphostructure, spindle shaped, similar to the culture of mesenchymal stem cells derived from adult bone marrow. Also, after osteogenic differentiation, these analyses indicate typical osteoblast morphostructure and reveale a tri-dimensional organization of the cells and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) in close contact with biomaterial. This approach would allow to personalize the scaffold for bone tissue engineering in order to accelerate the process of osteogenesis.