A margin of 4 mm anterior to the mental foramen should be safe to avoid any damage to the mental nerve loop bundle in majority of the cases where the loop is present.

This case report presents the removal of complex composite odontoma in a young patient in the right body of mandible via the unilateral sagittal splitting of the mandible. This article shows that sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible can be very useful to access various pathologies in the body, angle, and ramus of the mandible and to navigate lesions that are in proximity to the inferior alveolar nerve. This technique also helps in avoiding postoperative morbidity when compared to other conventional surgical approaches. It can be used to remove large cysts, benign non-infiltrative tumours of the mandible, odontogenic myxoma, large odontoma, and deeply impacted lower third molars.

Among the congenital anomalies, cleft lip and palate take about 14% of the total population; among them, unilateral cleft lip and palate is predominant than bilateral. Cleft lip correction preceding the cleft palate is usually done within a gap of 3 years. Due to the wide median palatal cleft, a perfectly performed Langenbeck pushback closures can leave behind persistent oronasal fistulas during the healing process, due to which severe scarring of palatal mucosa takes place. Secondary alveolar grafting is a procedure performed irrespective of the age for persistent oronasal fistulas. Further closure of nasal and palatal fistula with intervening bone graft is always successful but can compromise the growth of maxilla resulting in hypoplasia. In one such case of a failed secondary alveolar grafting, a Lefort 1 advancement alone was done not only to improve the facial esthetics but also function. This paper discusses in detail the comprehensive surgical procedure performed.

The human mouth is one of the main routes of entry into the body for foreign microorganisms. During the usual course of daily living the host may be invaded by microbes possessing various harmful qualities, or the host may acquire breaks in its defenses, or may undergo operative procedures. In these conditions, the microorganisms find themselves in inadequately protected tissues because of break in local barrier. As tissues are injured and microbes increase, a variety of signals in the host brings about mobilization and local accumulation of protective factors and these are generally sufficient to contain the pathogens, prevent their dissemination, and allow healing to proceed promptly. The purpose of this review is to study both innate and immunologicallymediated defense systems in the human mouth and to review extensively the functions of these various defense mechanisms in protecting the host from colonization with microorganisms and cancerous cells with particular emphasis on the oral cavity and its immediate surroundings.