The Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Oral Lichen Planus in an Ethnic Chinese Cohort of 232 Patients

Aim Oral lichen planush （OLP） is a chronic inflammatory disease, and has been reported to have a correlation with hepatitis Cvirus （HCV） infection in some regional investigations. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HCV in patients with oral lichen planus in an ethnic Chinese cohort. Methodology The antibody of HCV infection was detected by using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, the clinical characteristics of whole the cohort have also been studied, such as the gender, age, clinical type, habits and social factors. Results Of all 232 patients, the antibody of HCV infection was detected positive in 4 patients （1.72%） using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. It was lower than that in control group of 2.5%, but not significant （P=0.309）. The positive rate of HCV antibody in the erosive type ones （4.2%） was higher than that in the reticular type ones （1.0%）, but this difference was proved to be not significant （P=0.389）. The clinical characteristics of whole cohort, such as the gender, age, clinical type, habits and social factors, showed the outcome obtained in the present study were similar to thao of our previous study. Conclusion HCV may play no etiological role in oral lichen planus in ethnic Chinese OLP patients.

The clinical effectiveness of reflectance optical spectroscopy for the in vivo diagnosis of oral lesions

Optical spectroscopy devices are being developed and tested for the screening and diagnosis of oral precancer and cancer lesions. This study reports a device that uses white light for detection of suspicious lesions and green–amber light at 545 nm that detect tissue vascularity on patients with several suspicious oral lesions. The clinical grading of vascularity was compared to the histological grading of the biopsied lesions using specific biomarkers. Such a device, in the hands of dentists and other health professionals, could greatly increase the number of oral cancerous lesions detected in early phase. The purpose of this study is to correlate the clinical grading of tissue vascularity in several oral suspicious lesions using the IdentafiH system with the histological grading of the biopsied lesions using specific vascular markers. Twenty-one patients with various oral lesions were enrolled in the study. The lesions were visualized using IdentafiH device with white light illumination, followed by visualization of tissue autofluorescence and tissue reflectance. Tissue biopsied was obtained from the all lesions and both histopathological and immunohistochemical studies using a vascular endothelial biomarker（CD34） were performed on these tissue samples. The clinical vascular grading using the green–amber light at 545 nm and the expression pattern and intensity of staining for CD34 in the different biopsies varied depending on lesions, grading ranged from 1 to3. The increase in vascularity was observed in abnormal tissues when compared to normal mucosa, but this increase was not limited to carcinoma only as hyperkeratosis and other oral diseases, such as lichen planus, also showed increase in vascularity. Optical spectroscopy is a promising technology for the detection of oral mucosal abnormalities; however, further investigations with a larger population group is required to evaluate the usefulness of these devices in differentiating benign lesions from potentially malignant lesions.

Preface for the microbial biofilm issue

Ever since the first discovery of bacteria over 400 years ago by van Leeuwenhoek, reductionism has been used by microbiologists as they analyzed small components of individually isolated bacteria to try and understand the whole. Powered by molecular biology and genomics, modem microbiologists have realized that the whole is more than the simple sum of its parts. ＂System thinking＂ and ＂holism＂ have led microbiologists from studying individual cells to examining complex communities. Biofilm research is at the center stage of this exciting new revolution!

Diagnostics and Treatment of Palatal Radicular Grooves

The palatal radicular groove represents a developmental anomaly that mainly affects the maxillary incisor teeth. This anomaly is probably caused by an infolding of the enamel organ and Hertwig′s epithelial root sheath during odontogenesis. The groove often originates in the central fossa or cingulum and continues towards the root apex for various distances. The anatomical defect can act as a funnel for plaque and, therefore, result in extensive bone and attachment loss. A complete lack of closure of the calcified tissues along the groove, that is a direct communication between pulp and periodontium, rarely occurs. However, accessory canals between the pulp cavity and periodontal tissues frequently exist along the groove and are main entrances of infectious material into the pulp cavity, facilitating the development of endodontic lesions. Grooves can also complicate restorative therapy or interfere with the accessibility for scaling and root planing. Patients usually present with pain and gingival inflammation in the maxillary incisor region. Bleeding on probing and increased pocket depths are strictly confined to the area of the groove in an otherwise periodontally healthy patient. Radiographs may show a parapulpal line that represents the radiographic image of the groove. Treatment of the anomaly by scaling and root planing alone or in combination with procedures such as odontoplasty, flap surgery, application of an enamel matrix derivative or guided tissue regeneration can be successful. A short case report of a patient treated successfully with an enamel matrix derivative for localized attachment loss due to this anomaly is presented.