Exfoliative cheilitis, one of a spectrum of diseases that affect the vermilion border of the lips, is uncommon and has no known cause. However, factors such as stress and some psychiatric conditions are associated with the onset of the disease. This condition is disabling because esthetics and normal functions such as eating, speaking and smiling are compromised. The lack of specific treatment makes exfoliative cheilitis a chronic disease that radically affects a person"s life. This report attempts to further investigate the clinical course of the disease and provides detailed illustrations of the cyclical nature of the disease.
Head and neck cancer is becoming a more recognizable pathology to the general population and dentists. The modes of treatment include surgery and/or radiation therapy. Where possible, pretreatment dental assessment shall be provided for these patients before they undergo radiation therapy. There are occasions, however, whereby head and neck cancer patients are not prepared optimally for radiation therapy. Because of this, they succumb to complicated oral adverse effects after radiation therapy. The last part of this series reviews the opportunistic infections that can occur to the perioral structure. Their management is briefly discussed.
Actinic prurigo is a chronic familial photodermatitis found predominantly among the Amerindians. It has been reported from North and South America, Britain and Japan. We report a case of actinic prurigo seen in Singapore. A 20-year-old Malay female presented with a persistent pruriginous eruption in the sun-exposed parts and on her abdomen. She also had lower lip cheilitis and thinning of the outer eyebrows, features often seen in actinic prurigo. The minimal erythema dose to ultraviolet A (UVA) and UVB were persistently lowered. We propose that this condition be called actinic prurigo, tropical (South-East Asian) variant.
Publication year=1992-1993
Oral health is an imperative part of overall human health. Oral disorders are often unreported, but are highly troublesome to human health in a long-standing situation. A strong association exists between cardiovascular drugs and oral adverse effects. Indeed, several cardiovascular drugs employed clinically have been reported to cause oral adverse effects such as xerostomia, oral lichen planus, angioedema, aphthae, dysgeusia, gingival enlargement, scalded mouth syndrome, cheilitis, glossitis and so forth. Oral complications might in turn worsen the cardiovascular disease condition as some reports suggest an adverse correlation between periodontal oral disease pathogenesis and cardiovascular disease. These are certainly important to be understood for a better use of cardiovascular medicines and control of associated oral adverse effects. This review sheds lights on the oral adverse effects pertaining to the clinical use of cardiovascular drugs. Above and beyond, an adverse correlation between oral disease and cardiovascular disease has been discussed.
Introduction:Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive staphylococci that form biofilms. Bacteria that dwell in bio-films tend to be highly resistant towards the action of antibiotics. S. aureus is a main cause of infections in the oral cavity such as angular cheilitis, endodontic infections, osteomyelitis of the jaw, parotitis and oral mucositis. Previous studies reported that S. aureus also spread to the other parts of the body through the circulatory system, which may lead to chronic infections. Hence the search for new antibacterial agents remains high and needs urgent attention to treat this problem. Plants offer a rich source of antimicrobial agents and bioactive compounds. In this study, aque-ous oil palm leaf extracts (OPLE) has been used as an alternative antibacterial agent against oral infections mainly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Many studies report the potential use of oil palm leaf extracts in treating bacterial infections such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus (isolated from other part of the body), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus sp. Although previous studies have documented the antimicrobial properties of oil palm leaf extracts, to date no study has been reported on the effect of oil palm leaf extract on oral microbes. Methods: The agar diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concen-tration (MBC) assay were conducted in order to observe the antibacterial activity of aqueous oil palm leaf extract. The crystal violet assay was used to determine the anti-biofilm activity of the extracts. Chlorhexidine and deionised distilled water were used as the positive and negative control respectively. For agar diffusion method, the diameter of inhibition zone was measured. Results: The inhibition zone of the tested bacteria was observed between 0-20mm. The MIC and MBC assay were used to know the lowest concentrations of the extract that inhibit the growth and killed the tested bacteria respectively. The MIC and MBC values for the tested bacteria were observed between 0-7.813mg/mL. While for anti-biofilm assays, OPLE aqueous extract acts as a potent anti-biofilm agent with dual actions, pre-venting and eradicating the biofilm of the tested bacteria. Conclusion: In conclusion, the tested plant extracts could serve as alternative natural antibacterial and anti-biofilm agent against oral infections.
Oral retinoids are among the drugs of choice for pustular psoriasis. Therapy with retinoids, including acitretin, is potent teratogens with other common side effects such as mucocutaneous involvement. Mucocutaneous side effects including dry lips (cheilitis), skin peeling, hair loss (alopecia), dry skin, or rhinitis are dose-related, with cheilitis occurring in more than 75% of patients receiving the highest doses of acitretin (75 mg/day). We report on a 37-year-old woman who developed folliculitis with acitretin which is a rare cutaneous side effect. She presented with eruptions pruritic papules with follicular pattern on anterior thigh and forearms after almost 1 year of treatment with acitretin (50mg OD) for pustular psoriasis. The skin lesion was treated successfully with skin dressing and antibiotic treatment and skin biopsy is suggestive of folliculitis. Several treatments for pustular psoriasis including topical steroids, methotrexate and oral prednisolone were ineffective or not tolerated. Treatment with acitretin which are 50mg OD provided partial resolution of skin lesions. The case is hereby reported because of its rarity and folliculitis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a popular eruption, especially in patients with high dose acitretin.
Oral retinoids are among the drugs of choice for pustular psoriasis. Therapy with retinoids, including acitretin, is potent teratogens with other common side effects such as mucocutaneous involvement. Mucocutaneous side effects including dry lips (cheilitis), skin peeling, hair loss (alopecia), dry skin, or rhinitis are dose-related, with cheilitis occurring in more than 75% of patients receiving the highest doses of acitretin (75 mg/day). We report on a 37-year-old woman who developed folliculitis with acitretin which is a rare cutaneous side effect. She presented with eruptions pruritic papules with follicular pattern on anterior thigh and forearms after almost 1 year of treatment with acitretin (50mg OD) for pustular psoriasis. The skin lesion was treated successfully with skin dressing and antibiotic treatment and skin biopsy is suggestive of folliculitis. Several treatments for pustular psoriasis including topical steroids, methotrexate and oral prednisolone were ineffective or not tolerated. Treatment with acitretin which are 50mg OD provided partial resolution of skin lesions. The case is hereby reported because of its rarity and folliculitis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a popular eruption, especially in patients with high dose acitretin.