Objective: Long exposure of argon plasma coagulation (APC) causes thermal damage and apoptosis in tissues. However, whether the APC-induced thermal damage in tissues involves the expression of NF-κB and caspase-3 remains undetermined. In this study, we compared the effect of APC on liver damage at two different exposure time and tested the hypothesis that thermal injuries induced by APC are accompanied by induction of NF-κB and caspase-3 expression in rat liver.

Material and Methods: Liver injuries were induced in rats by an APC device with pulse mode for 2 or 4 seconds under the same frequency of power (40W). The animals were sacrificed 0, 3, 7 and 21 days after injury and the liver tissues were harvested and used for western blotting, histological and immunohistochemical analyses.

Results: Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections of the liver tissues showed that two-second application of APC caused minimum thermal damage and apoptotic areas, less carbonization, and more fibrosis formation in liver than the four-second APC application at all time points examined. All of these APC-induced thermal effects and morphological changes in the two-second APC application group but not the four-second APC application group recovered 21 days after the treatment. Western blot results indicated that APC induced the expression of NF-κB on day 3, and peaked on days and 14. In the two-second APC application group, the expression of NF-κB returned to the normal level on day 28. However, the expression of NF-κB induced by 4 seconds of APC application remained high even 28 days after injury. The expression of caspase-3 induced by the 2 seconds or 4 seconds of APC application peaked at 7 or 14 days, respectively. Similarly, the APC-induce expression of caspase-3 returned to the normal level in the 2-second APC application group, but it still remained high in the 4-second APC application group even 28 days after injury. These results were further confirmed by The immunofluorescence data also indicated that APC exposure for 4 seconds induced a much higher expression of NF-κB than APC exposure for 2 seconds. The similar pattern was observed in the caspase-3 expression.

Conclusions: Taken together, our results show that 2-second APC exposure causes minimum liver injury accompanied by the expressions of NF-κB and casapase-3 which return to the normal level 28 days after injury. These findings strongly suggest that the shortest pulse mode (2 seconds) application of APC is a safe, convenient, and effective approach for the treatment of particularly thermosensitive tissues.

Objective: Carbamide peroxide 10% is commonly used in home bleaching procedure. Effectiveness of carbamide peroxide bleaching process as a home bleaching has no successor yet, but its use is still being debated due to the effects on oral cavity. Strawberries are one of natural ingredients that currently used to whiten decolorized teeth because it contains ellagic acid and malic acid. On contrary, malic acid is said to be involved in the process of erosion. The aim of this study was to compare tooth enamel hardness after application of dental bleaching agent carbamide peroxide 10% and strawberry gel.

Material and Methods: Sample consists of 30 maxillary incisors were divided into 3 groups. The first group as control soaked in aquades. The second treatment group were applied with carbamide peroxide 10%  and a third group applied with strawberry gel. Before and after the sample application, tests were performed to determine the hardness of tooth enamel as measured using Universal Hardness Tester.

Results: Based on Friedman test, p-value = 0,000 (p <0,05; significant). This means that there was a significant difference in tooth enamel surface hardness of each group and treatment group using bleaching carbamide peroxide 10% and strawberry gel.

Conclusion: There was a decrease on tooth enamel hardness after application of carbamide peroxide 10%  compared strawberry gel.

Objective: This study aim to determine the relationship between teeth color value and skin color value of the Makassar tribe.

Material and Methods: This observational analytic research employs cross-sectional study and purposive sampling methods, with 73 samples; held in May 2012 in Bontoramba, Jeneponto district, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It uses the Vita-Lumina shade guide for teeth color tests and Garnier FD344110.122.007 for skin color tests.

Results: The results show that the distribution of teeth colour value in respondents is mostly in the highest values (A1, B1, A2, B2 color) which were 71.2%, while the skin value is mostly in a dark skin color (78.1%). Data was analyzed by the chi-square test. It was found that teeth color value was not related to skin color value in the Makassar tribe (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Skin color value was not an indicator in determining the teeth color in the Makassar tribe.

Objective: This study aims to determine the role of gene polymorphism TGFα rs 1058213 in cases of cleft lip with or without cleft palate nonsyndrome in the Riau Malay tribe.
Material and Methods: DNA extraction of venous blood and polymorphism TGFα rs 1058213 was assessed using the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism-PCR (RFLP-PCR) working method and followed by sequencing. Genotyping SNP rs1058213 in the TGFα gene was performed by the RFLP-PCR method in control and CLP NS patients. The data was assessed using the test statistic premises T-test difference test.
Results: The total sample size included 68 samples consisting of 34 CLP NS samples and 34 control samples. The cases of CLP NS occurred more in men than women, 20 cases (59%) and 14 cases (14%), respectively.
Conclusion: There was no significant difference between TGFα rs 1058213 gene polymorphisms in CLP NS and controls in the Riau Malay tribe.

Objective: This study aims to collect data on the mandibular cortical thickness of the woman inhabitants in the Toraja tribe.

Material and Methods: The subjects of this study that underwent panoramic radiography were vulnerable women aged 45-90 years from the Toraja tribe. The technique used to assess cortical thickness was the measurement Mental Index (MI) by panoramic radiography.

Results: MI detected a reduction in bone mass density in elderly women using panoramic radiography.

Conclusion: Osteoporosis can be detected by measuring the MI using panoramic radiographs. This has been developed to detect osteoporosis.

Objective: This paper reports a case of mandibular ramus parosteal osteosarcoma, discussing diagnostic problems and reviewing treatment variations.

Methods: A 37 year old male patient was referred by a private hospital with a history of abscesses treatment and removal of his right lower molar 1.5 years ago. The wound in his tooth socket was not healed. Swelling with abscesses recurred and was diagnosed as osteomyelitis. The Orthopantomogram (OPG) result showed a description of osteomyelitis, and the Multi Slice Computed Tomography (MSCT) 3D confirmed the suspected osteosarcoma. Histopathologic results indicated parosteal osteosarcoma. 

Result: Hemimandibulectomy and chemotherapy were performed with good results.

Conclusion: This parosteal osteosarcoma was difficult to diagnosis quickly because the initial image resembled osteomyelitis but it was low grade and rare; therefore, meticulous and accurate diagnosis was deemed necessary. Chemotherapy-combined surgery was thereby performed for treating this parosteal osteosarcoma.

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe and analyse nicotine stomatitis in smokers. Of the world population that consumes tobacco, Asia and Australia make up 57% of tobacco consumers. Tobacco can be consumed by various ways such as smoked tobacco, commonly known as cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco. Cigarettes are known to cause nicotine stomatitis in the oral cavity.

Methods: A 28-year-old man patient came with complaints of white spots on his hard palate. The patient has a medical history of asthma as
a child and has been taking salbutamol. The patient has been smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day since being 16 years old.

Results: Nicotine stomatitis that occurs on the hard palate appears as circular reddish shapes on the orifice of minor salivary glands. These lesions are formed from physically irritation caused by smoking. The lesions were benign and reversible.

Conclusion: Thought appropriate examination and treatment, these lesions were healed.