Nerve-related complications have been frequently reported in dental procedures, and a very frequent type of occurrence involves the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). The nerve injury in humans often results in persistent pain accompanied by allodynia and hyperalgesia. In this investigation, we used an experimental IAN injury in rats, which was induced by a Crile hemostatic clamp, to evaluate the effects of laser therapy on nerve repair. We also studied the nociceptive behavior (von Frey hair test) before and after the injury and the behavioral effects of treatment with laser therapy (emitting a wavelength of 904 nm, output power of 70 Wpk, a spot area of ∼0.1 cm², frequency of 9500 Hz, pulse time 60 ns and an energy density of 6 J/cm²). As neurotrophins are essential for the process of nerve regeneration, we used immunoblotting techniques to preliminarily examine the effects of laser therapy on the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The injured animals treated with laser exhibited an improved nociceptive behavior. In irradiated animals, there was an enhanced expression of NGF (53%) and a decreased BDNF expression (40%) after laser therapy. These results indicate that BDNF plays a locally crucial role in pain-related behavior development after IAN injury, increasing after lesions (in parallel to the installation of pain behavior) and decreasing with laser therapy (in parallel to the improvement of pain behavior). On the other hand, NGF probably contributes to the repair of nerve tissue, in addition to improving the pain-related behavior.
Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injuries may occur during various dental routine procedures, especially in the removal of impacted lower third molars, and nerve recovery in these cases is a great challenge in dentistry. Here, the IAN crush injury model was used to assess the efficacy of photobiomodulation (PBM) in the recovery of the IAN in rats following crushing injury (a partial lesion). Rats were divided into four experimental groups: without any procedure, IAN crush injury, and IAN crush injury with PBM and sham group with PBM. Treatment was started 2 days after surgery, above the site of injury, and was performed every other day, totaling 10 sessions. Rats were irradiated with GaAs Laser (Gallium Arsenide, Laserpulse, Ibramed Brazil) emitting a wavelength of 904 nm, an output power of 70 mWpk, beam spot size at target ∼0.1 cm, a frequency of 9500 Hz, a pulse time 60 ns, and an energy density of 6 J/cm. Nerve recovery was investigated by measuring the morphometric data of the IAN using TEM and by the expression of laminin, neurofilaments (NFs), and myelin protein zero (MPZ) using Western blot analysis. We found that IAN-injured rats which received PBM had a significant improvement of IAN morphometry when compared to IAN-injured rats without PBM. In parallel, all MPZ, laminin, and NFs exhibited a decrease after PBM. The results of this study indicate that the correlation between the peripheral nerve ultrastructure and the associated protein expression shows the beneficial effects of PBM.
Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is part of a rare group of bone dysplasia. It exhibits benign behavior and can lead to osteolytic lesions, deformities, and fractures. The treatment is challenging, and accurate removal of the lesion is necessary to restore function and esthetics. Here we present two cases of FD where virtual planning with presurgical computed tomography (CT) was used for the production of a surgical guide for bone contouring. First, CT image reconstruction was performed to mirror the patient’s original anatomy. Then, three surgical guides that determined the area and depth of bone wear were prepared and used in the relevant sequence during the actual surgeries, which were successfully performed in both patients. This technique is termed the template guide holes (TGH) technique. The findings from this report suggest that presurgical virtual planning and guide preparation allows direct and objective measurement of the level of bone wear and improves the functional and esthetic outcomes of surgery for FD. In particular, the TGH technique is safe and allows adequate preoperative surgical simulation, reduces the surgical duration, and increases the predictability of the final result.
Lipoma é um tumor benigno caracterizado pela multiplicação de células adiposas que pode acometer qualquer região do corpo, inclusive sítios bucais. Este trabalho descreve dois casos clínicos de lipoma em cavidade bucal, abordando o processo de diagnóstico e terapêutica empregada nessas lesões.
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