Ultrasonography detects and localizes superficial foreign bodies with low radiopacity in the tissues of the body more effectively than CT and conventional plain radiography. However, CT is a more effective technique for visualization of foreign bodies in air than ultrasound and conventional plain radiography.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of extraoral and intraoral low-level laser therapies (LLLT) on postoperative trismus and oedema following the removal of mandibular third molars. Forty-eight patients who were to undergo surgical removal of their lower third molars were studied. Patients were randomly allocated to one of three groups: extraoral LLLT, intraoral LLLT, or placebo. In the study, a Ga-Al-As diode laser device with a continuous wavelength of 808 nm was used, and the laser therapy was applied by using a 1 x 3-cm handpiece. The flat-top laser beam profile was used in this therapy. For both of the LLLT groups, laser energy was applied at 100 mW (0.1 W) for a total of 120 s (0.1 W x 120 s = 12 J). Patients in the extraoral-LLLT group (n = 16) received 12-J (4 J/cm(2)) low-level laser irradiation, and the laser was applied at the insertion point of the masseter muscle immediately after the operation. Patients in the intraoral-LLLT group (n = 16) received 12-J (4 J/cm(2)) low-level laser irradiation intraorally at the operation site 1 cm from the target tissue. In the placebo group (n = 16), the handpiece was inserted intraorally at the operation site and then was touched extraorally to the masseter muscle for 1 min at each site (120 s total), but the laser was not activated. The size of the interincisal opening and facial swelling were evaluated on the second and seventh postoperative days. At the second postoperative day, trismus (29.0 +/- 7.6 mm [p = 0.010]) and swelling (105.3 +/- 5.0 mm [p = 0.047]) in the extraoral-LLLT group were significantly less than in the placebo group (trismus: 21.1 +/- 7.6 mm, swelling: 109.1 +/- 4.4 mm). Trismus (39.6 +/- 9.0 mm [p = 0.002]) in the extraoral-LLLT group at the seventh postoperative day was also significantly less than in the placebo group (29.0 +/- 6.2 mm). However, at the seventh postoperative day in the intraoral-LLLT group, only trismus (35.6 +/- 8.5 [p = 0.002]) was significantly less than in the placebo group (29.0 +/- 6.2 mm). This study demonstrates that extraoral LLLT is more effective than intraoral LLLT for the reduction of postoperative trismus and swelling after extraction of the lower third molar.

Within the limitations of this study it can be concluded that LLLT can be beneficial for the reduction of postoperative trismus and swelling after third molar surgery.

The results indicate that only the Er:YAG laser can be used for lingual frenectomy without local anesthesia, and there was no difference between the two groups regarding the degree of the postsurgical discomfort except in the first 3 h. In conclusion, these results indicate that the Er:YAG laser is more advantageous than the diode laser in minor soft-tissue surgery because it can be performed without local anesthesia and with only topical anesthesia.

No abstract

Objective:The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze clinic and radiologic features and the prevalence of jaw cysts in southeast region of Turkey.Materials and Methods:This study was carried out in 149 cysts of the jaw diagnosed among 407 individuals who were taken biopsy in our department from October 2008 to December 2012. All cysts were treated by enucleation, marsupialization, or combination, and all cases were histologically examined.Results:One-hundred-and-forty-eight cases were classified odontogenic, one was non-odontogenic. There were 89 cysts (59.7%) in men, 60 (40.3%) in women. The mean age was 32.72 years. We found 80 cysts (35 F, 45 M) in the maxillary and 69 (28 F, 41 M) in mandible. It is observed that 94 were radicular cysts (63%), 40 were dentigerous cysts (26.9%), 9 were odontogenic keratocysts (OKC) (6.1%), 5 were residual radicular cysts (3.4%), and 1 was nasopalatine cyst (0.6%). In radicular cysts, 56 of them (59.5%) were located in the anterior region of the jaws; 18 dentigerous cysts and 2 OKCs were found in the posterior region of mandible. Clinically, the chief complaint of patients was expansion and pain. Radiographically, scalloping of the lesion between the teeth was found in 1 case, root resorption was seen in 3 cases, and displacement of the teeth and follicles was observed in 16 cases.Conclusions:We found similar prevalence of jaw cysts that reported in the literature, in which most odontogenic cysts (OCs) were inflammatory origin.

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of four different laser wavelengths (660, 810, 980, and 1,064 nm) used for low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the healing of mucositis in an animal model of wound healing by investigating the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and blood-derived fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Thirty-five male Wistar albino rats with a weight of 250-300 g body mass and 5 months old were used in the study. All animals were intraperitoneally injected with 100 mg/kg of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on the first day and 65 mg/kg of 5-FU on the third day. The tip of an 18-gauge needle was used in order to develop a superficial scratching on the left cheek pouch mucosa by dragging twice in a linear movement on third and fifth days. After ulcerative mucositis were clinically detected on the animals' left cheek pouch mucosa, the laser therapy was started. Four different laser wavelengths (660 nm, HELBO, Bredent; 810 nm, Fotona XD, Fotona; 980 nm, ARC Fox; and 1,064 nm, Fidelis Plus 3, Fotona) used for LLLT at ED 8 J/cm(2) daily from the first to the fourth days. Oval excisional biopsy was taken from the site of the wound, and the expression of PDGF, TGF-β, and bFGF was evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed by one2-way ANOVA, and then Tukey HSD tests were used for pairwise comparisons among groups (α = 0.05). The one-way ANOVA test indicated that expression values of the growth factors, PDGF and bFGF, were significantly affected by irradiation of different wavelengths of lasers (p < 0.001). However, expression value of the TGF-β was not affected by irradiation of different wavelengths of lasers (p > 0.05). The highest PDGF expression was detected in neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser group (p < 0.05), and there were no statistically significant differences among the other groups (p > 0.05). The highest bFGF expression was detected in 980-nm diode and Nd:YAG laser groups (p < 0.05), and there were no statistically significant differences among the other groups (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that low-level Nd:YAG and 980-nm diode laser therapy accelerate the wound healing process by changing the expression of PDGF and bFGF genes responsible for the stimulation of the cell proliferation and fibroblast growth.

No abstract