Bacterial endocarditis (BE) is a disease resulting from the association of morphological alterations of the heart and bacteraemia originating from different sources that at times can be indiscernible (infectious endocarditis). It is classified on the basis of the morphological alteration involved, depending on the clinical manifestations and course of illness, which varies according to the causative microorganism and host conditions (for example, it is characteristic in I.V. drug users). The most common microorganisms involved are: Streptococcus viridans (55%), Staphylococcus aureus (30%), Enterococcus (6%) and HACEK bacteria (corresponding to the initials: Haemophilus, Actinobacillus, Cardiobacterium, Eikenella and Kingella), although on occasions it can also be caused by fungi. The oral microbiological flora plays a very important role in the aetiopathogenesis of BE, given that the condition may be of oral or dental origin. This paper will deal with the prevention of said bacteraemia. Prophylaxis will be undertaken using amoxicillin or clindamycin according to action protocols, with special emphasis placed on oral hygiene in patients with structural defects of the heart. (+info)
Patients' perceptions of recovery after surgical exposure of impacted maxillary teeth treated with an open-eruption surgical-orthodontic technique.
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This study assessed patient perceptions of immediate post-operative recovery after the surgical exposure of impacted maxillary teeth with an open-eruption technique. Thirty patients (24 females and six males) underwent surgical exposure of 39 impacted maxillary teeth using this technique. After surgery the patients were contacted by telephone daily for 7 days, to complete a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire, which assessed their perception of recovery in four main areas: pain, oral function, general activity, and other symptoms. Severe pain was reported by 30 per cent of the patients in the first post-operative day (POD 1), which declined to 6.7 per cent by POD 6. Consumption of analgesics declined gradually over the post-operative days (POD 1: 80 per cent, POD 7: 20 per cent). Difficulty in eating required 5 days to reach minimal levels; enjoying everyday food, 2.5 days; school attendance, limitations in daily routine, swallowing, and speech, 2 days each; swelling, bad taste/smell, 1.5 days each; within 1 day all other measures attained minimal levels. The need for bone removal during the exposure resulted in delayed recovery with regard to the ability to eat. In general, females reported delayed recovery for pain. The present data may serve as basic guidelines against which future studies which assess post-operative management of patients after surgical exposure of impacted teeth by an open-eruption technique may be compared. (+info)
Rapid prototyping in maxillofacial surgery and traumatology: case report.
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Review of the literature from 1991 to 2002 on the use of rapid prototyping in the biomedical area emphasizes the applicability of this technique to aid diagnosis and planning in Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology. A case report in which a TMJ ankylosis relapse was treated using rapid prototyping (selective laser sintering) for surgery planning is presented. After one year, the patient's buccal opening was 45 mm. Transitory paralysis of the facial nerve disappeared totally in six months. (+info)
Medicolegal aspects of replanting permanent teeth.
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Replantation of a permanent tooth is an intervention that carries the same responsibilities in terms of informed consent as a surgical procedure. Unlike many procedures that can be planned in advance, an avulsion requires decision-making shortly after the injury, often by a distraught patient or parent. Under these circumstances, patients or parents prefer, or may even pressure, clinicians to make the replantation decision for them.Later, the parents may seek advice of other professionals or be confronted by lay opinions or Internet information that may lead them to doubt the decision or even feel betrayed by the dentist who provided the acute care. This article uses an actual parent complaint to illustrate the medicolegal aspects of the replantation decision and describe measures to be taken by the clinician faced with this situation. (+info)
Jacob's disease associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction: a case report.
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Jacob's disease is regarded a rare condition in which a joint formation is established between an enlarged mandibular coronoid process and the inner aspect of the zygomatic body. Chronic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disk displacement has been proposed as etiological factor of coronoid process enlargement. We present a 23-year-old woman with long-standing TMJ dysfunction and restricted interincisal opening, who developed a progressive zygomatic asymmetry. The patient underwent treatment by intraoral coronoidectomy and homolateral TMJ arthroscopy in the same surgery. The histopathological diagnosis of the coronoid sample was cartilage-capped exostoses with presence of articular fibrous cartilage. Although the low prevalence of this entity, it should be considered as a possible diagnosis in patients with progressive limitation of mouth opening, although a TMJ syndrome may be present as a cause of this entity. (+info)
Day case oral surgery in pediatric patients during the year 2000 in the University of Barcelona Dental Clinic (Spain).
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AIM: A study is made to show that most pediatric oral surgical interventions can be performed on a day case surgery or ambulatory basis, and to describe the activity of the Master of Oral Surgery and Implantology (Barcelona University Dental School, Spain) in the year 2000. DESIGN: The study documents the surgical activity of the Units of Oral Surgery and Laser Surgery in pediatric patients, in the context of the Master of Oral Surgery and Implantology (Barcelona University Dental School, Spain). RESULTS: Of the 3187 operations carried out in our Service in this period, 489 involved patients under 18 years of age. The surgical removal of third molars was the most common intervention (55.6%), followed by other surgical or non-surgical tooth extractions (33.6%) and other interventions (10.6%) comprising fenestration of impacted canines or other teeth, frenectomies, the removal of mucoceles, and tooth relocations. Complications after surgical third molar extraction were recorded in 15.93% of cases, the most frequent problem being the pain and swelling (4.35% each) characteristic of postoperative inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience shows that day case oral surgery can be safely performed in pediatric patients, provided the required means and health care personnel resources are available. (+info)
Mandibular ameloblastoma. A review of the literature and presentation of six cases.
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Ameloblastoma is a benign odontogenic tumour of epithelial origin without induction in the connective tissue. In treating this type of tumour, it is important to assess the clinical type (solid, multicystic, unicystic, peripheral), localisation, and size of the tumour as well as age of the patient. Articles have recently been published with the purpose of providing updated knowledge and therapeutic approaches to ameloblastoma. We present six cases of patients with localised mandibular ameloblastoma who were treated during the last seven years. We present data on clinical appearance, histological characteristics, and therapeutic approach that was used, which included excision of the lesion, perilesional drilling of the bone, or block resection, according to the type of ameloblastoma. Lastly, we analysed follow-up measures and the rate of recurrence in these patients. The aim of this paper is to review the concepts relating to ameloblastoma that have been published recently and to assess their influence on the clinical attitude taken when facing this pathology, using our experience with ameloblastoma as a starting point to illustrate this discussion. (+info)
Synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint: a clinical, radiological and histological study.
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Synovial chondromatosis (SC) is a cartilaginous metaplasy of the mesenchymal remnants of the synovial tissue of the joints. It is characterized by the formation of cartilaginous nodules in the synovium and inside the articular space (loose bodies). SC mainly affects to big synovial joints such as the knee and the elbow, being uncommon the onset within the TMJ, where 75 cases have been published. The main symptoms are pain, inflammation, limitation of the movements of the jaw and crepitation. Different methods of diagnosis include panoramic radiograph, CT, MR and arthroscopy of the TMJ. We report a new case of unilateral SC of the TMJ, including diagnostic images, treatment performed and histological analysis. (+info)