The common etiological factor considered for this unremitting disease is use of areca nut; however, the precise mechanism still remains elusive and controversial. A wide range of treatment consisting of drugs, surgical therapy, and physiotherapy have been attempted till date, with varying degrees of benefit, but none of them have proved to be a cure for this disease. This field remains open for clinical trials and research. This paper aims to give an overview on the role of areca nut in the pathogenesis and malignant potential of oral submucous fibrosis.

This review deals in detail with the origin, principle, various theories used to explain this effect and molecular, genetic, as well as cytogenetic findings related to oral field cancerization. Further, the clinical implications and future research directives are also discussed.

Oral submucous fibrosis is a disease due to a chronic, insidious change in fibroelasticity, characterized by burning sensation in the oral cavity, blanching, and stiffening of the oral mucosa and oro-pharynx leading to trismus and inability to open the mouth. The symptoms and signs depend on the progression of the lesions and number of affected sites. It is predominantly seen in Indians and other Asians. Once, the disease has developed, there is neither regression nor any effective treatment. It is considered as a pre-malignant stage of oral cancer and reported risk of malignant transformation varies from 2.3-7.6%.The common etiological factor considered for this unremitting disease is use of areca nut; however, the precise pathogenesis still remains elusive and controversial. A wide range of treatment consisting of drug management, surgical therapy, and physiotherapy have been attempted till date; with varying degrees of benefit, but none of them have proved to be a cure for this disease. This field remains open for clinical trials and research. This paper aims to provide an overview on various management modalities available for oral submucous fibrosis.

Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome (NBCCS) is a rare condition characterized by varied clinical manifestations like multiple Basal Cell Carcinomas (BCC), multiple Keratocystic Odontogenic Tumours (KCOT), palmar and/or plantar pits and ectopic calcification of the falx cerebri, which are considered as the major criteria for diagnosis. The occurrence of jaw manifestations makes it an important diagnostic problem for oral and maxillofacial surgeons and often clinicians encounter this aspect which finally leads to the diagnosis of this syndrome. This paper reports a case of NBCCS and provides an overview on the diagnosis and management of this enigmatic entity.

Objective The aim of the study is to assess the clinical and radiological factors that increase the surgical difficulty in removal of mandibular impacted 3rd molar and design a new difficulty predictive index. Methods The data was collected from 100 patients with impacted mandibular 3rd molar who presented to Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, K.L.E's Institute of Dental Sciences. Clinical and radiological parameters included in the New Index were noted. The tooth was then removed under local anesthesia and time taken for the removal was noted. The Pederson Index, New Index and time taken were co-related using kappa statistical analysis. Results The kappa agreement between Pederson Index and time taken was 66.50 % (0.2231) whereas between New Index and time was 89 % (0.7177) indicating that New Index is a better predictor of the difficulty. Conclusion The New Index is a reliable tool in predicting the difficulty in the removal of mandibular impacted third molar.