Periodontal ligament thickness as related to age and mesiocclusal drifting of teeth:a histometric study.

Abstract

THE EFFECT OF HYDROMASSAGE ON CAPILLARY STRENGTH Kozam, G. N.Y. State Dent. J., 39:551, November, 1973. Forty subjects in good general and periodontal health were tested by using a capillary resistometer to apply suction stress to tissue surfaces at —100, —200, and —300 millimeters of mercury for one minute. Petechiae in a 3 cm. diameter were counted. The test regions used were the antecubital skin of both arms and the lower labial mucosa. The first 4 weeks were used for pre-experimental baselines on the right side of both regions and pre-control baselines on the left. Patients were in­ structed to use a Water Pik spray to their right side areas for 4 minutes. When the hydromassage was used, a rapid decrease in the number of petechiae was demonstrated indicating an in­ creased capillary resistance to rupture to suction-stress tests by a physiologic mechanism. 100 Bergen St., Newark, New Jersey 07103. MASSIVE GINGIVAL HYPERPLASIA PRECEDING DENTAL ERUPTION IN I-CELL DISEASE Galili, D., Yatziv, S., and Russell, A. Oral Surg., 37:533, April, 1974. I-cell disease is a rare condition, found in infants, which is characterized by severe shortness of stature, early psychomotor retardation, congenital dislocation of the hip, inguinal hernia, and facial and skeletal anomalies. Hyperplasia of the gingiva is usually seen by 6-18 months along with variations in the facial configuration. Diagnosis is based on clinical signs and both enzymatic and tissue analyses. The tissue defects resemble those of the storage disorders, suggested to be of combined lipid and mucopolysaccharide metabolic groups, and culture of fibroblasts shows the cytoplasmic inclusion which are charac­ teristic of the disease. The disease probably represents the homozygous state of a recessive mutation, but the pathogene­ sis is not known. The reported case is that of a 12-month-old Arab boy, whose parents were first cousins, who presented with all of the aforementioned symptoms. The hyperplastic gingival tissues were firm, hard, and somewhat elastic, with no signs of inflammation. Radiographs showed the tissue to be com­ pletely covering otherwise erupted teeth. The posterior regions of the tissue occluded, while there was an open-bite an­ teriorly. The enlargement of the gingiva, combined with the normal size of the tongue reduced the volume of the oral cavity which interfered with breathing and feeding. Histologic examination revealed normal stratified squamous epithelium, with a slight elongation of the rete pegs, and an underlying connective tissue layer consisting of dense collagen and a slight chronic inflammatory cell infiltration. Department of Oral Di­ agnosis, Oral Medicine, and Roentgenology, The Hebrew Uni- versity-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, P.O.B. 1172, Jerusalem, Israel. HEMORRHAGE AFTER ORAL SURGERY: A N ANALYSIS OF 103 CASES Jensen, P. S. Oral Surg., 37:2, January, 1974. A study was done of 103 patients consecutively treated for postoperative hemorrhage and a control group of 103 patients in the clinics who consecutively underwent the same treatment as the experimental group, but without developing postopera­ tive hemorrhage. The majority of the patients were in the 16- to 30-year old range, with a better than two to one (73:30) ratio of males to females. The most common site of bleeding problems was the lower third molar area, but after periodontal surgery, bleeding was more common from the maxilla. A statistically significant high frequency of earlier postsurgical bleeding episodes suggested that certain oral surgery patients have a tendency to postoperative hemorrhage without display­ ing hematologic values characteristic of any known hemor­ rhagic diathesis. In the remainder of the patients, bleeding was usually of local origin, with a high frequency of mucosal laceration, suggestive of inadequate surgical techniques. Dental Department, University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9, DK 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark. PERIODONTAL DISEASE, BACTERIA, AND PULPAL