Objective To compare the influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic on the student reported outcomes among dental students reading/studying different courses offered in the only dental school in Malta. Materials and methods An anonymous questionnaire consisting of 13 closed‐ended and open‐ended questions was sent to all students (n = 97) at the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the University of Malta. Emergent themes from open‐ended questions were identified and tallied. Since data were classified as categorical ranks, nonparametric tests were used to compare variables among the different courses, years of study, preclinical/clinical students, and gender categories. Results Dental technology students were significantly less stressed about contracting COVID‐19 (P = 0.005) and regarding lack of preparation due to inability to physically go to the library (P = 0.019). Female students reported significantly more anxiety for the following factors: “feeling anxious all the time” (P = 0.033), “worried about contracting COVID‐19′” (P = 0.012), “worried that a family member may contract COVID‐19′” (P = 0.048), “more anxious about exams this year because of the challenges we are facing” (P = 0.029), and “concern about losing manual dexterity skills” (P = 0.038). Qualitative data gathered show considerable stress reported by students regarding changes in examination processes and formats and lack of timely communication. Conclusion Students were greatly affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic and this caused fear of losing their manual dexterity skills, anxiety related to its consequences on their long‐term plans, and anxiety related to the examinations. Dental schools in turn should adapt rapidly and customize changes that are specific to the individual student cohort and their stage of training.

Candida albicans isolated from potentially carcinogenic oral diseases can produce mutagenic amounts of acetaldehyde. Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption may favour adaptational changes resulting in the upregulation of candidal acetaldehyde metabolism.

Schwannoma or neurilemmoma is an infrequent benign tumor in the oral cavity that originates from the Schwann cells on the neural sheath of the peripheral nerves. Schwannomas are frequently located in the soft tissues of head and neck region, but only a 1 to 12% of them are located in the oral cavity. Some histological variants of schwannoma have been described including the cellular, plexiform, epithelioid, ancient, and melanocytic types. The “ancient schwannoma” is an uncommon variant of this tumor that shows specific histological characteristics, and is rare in the oral cavity with less than 15 cases described on the literature. Most of them were located in the tongue or in the floor of the mouth, being the hard palate an extremely rare localization. We present a new clinical case of an ancient schwannoma with a long time of evolution, arising from the nasopalatine nerve, and located in the hard palate of a 35 year old female. We also review the main clinical and histological characteristics of this pathology. Key words:Ancient schwannoma, neurilemmoma, palate, schwannoma.

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Angina bullosa hemorrhagica (ABH) is an enigmatic oral\ud disorder described for the first time by Badham in 1967\ud to define blisters with a hematic content in the oral\ud cavity and oropharynx unrelated to any hematological,\ud dermatological or systemic disease. The ABH is an\ud uncommon disease of the oral cavity distinctively\ud affecting adults, with the highest incidence over the\ud 5th decade of life. This process is considered nowadays\ud to have a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, where mild\ud oral traumatisms can trigger the blisters in susceptible\ud individuals. Certain association on the onset of the\ud lesion with the chronic use of inhaled steroids and,\ud more controversially, with triggering systemic disorders,\ud such as, diabetes or hypertension has been described.\ud Characteristically, the ABH blisters are acute and are\ud located on the lining mucosa, more frequently on the\ud soft palate. Usually, the lesions are solitary and rupture\ud easily, resulting in a superficial ulceration that heals\ud quickly without scarring. The histopathological analysis\ud shows a subepithelial blister containing blood and direct\ud immunofluorescence on the epithelium is negative. The\ud differential diagnosis should consider all oral vesiculobullous\ud disorders with hematic content, including\ud mucocutaneos, hematological or cystic pathology. The\ud diagnosis of ABH is clearly clinical, although the biopsy\ud might be helpful on atypical or abnormally recurrent\ud cases. The general prognosis of ABH is good and the\ud treatment is symptomatic.\ud Although it is an uncommon disease, the\ud angina bullosa hemorrhagica should be considered\ud in the differential diagnosis of oral vesiculo-bullous\ud processes. Acknowledging this entity will help in\ud differentiating it from important mucocutaneous and\ud hematological diseases such as pemphigus vulgaris,\ud mucous membrane pemphigoid or coagulation disorders.\ud In this review we analyze the main etiopathogenic,\ud clinicopathological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects\ud of this enigmatic oral condition.peer-reviewe