We describe a case of an 87-year-old Japanese woman with left maxillary gingival cancer and Warthin tumor in the right submandibular gland. Warthin tumors originating from the submandibular gland are uncommon, and such a case complicated with oral cancer is extremely rare. Warthin tumors generally produce positive results on 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography, which can present challenges in differential diagnoses including metastatic malignancies or lymph node metastases. Both Warthin tumor and oral, head, and neck cancers are strongly associated with smoking. Therefore, it is noteworthy that Warthin tumor also may present in patients with oral cancer.

A 60-year-old Japanese woman presented with a palatal pleomorphic adenoma measuring 5 cm in size. In addition to impairments during the oral preparatory and oral transport phases, dysphagia with nasopharyngeal closure disorder was observed in the pharyngeal phase. After resection of the tumor, dysphagia resolved, and the patient was immediately able to eat a standard meal. A videofluoroscopic swallowing study confirmed improvement in the movement of the soft palate compared with the pre-operative condition.

Background: Osteodysplasia of the oral and maxillofacial bone is generally accompanied by systemic bone abnormalities (such as short stature, joint contracture) or other systemic abnormalities (such as renal, dermatological, cardiovascular, optic, or hearing disorders). However, it does not always present this way. Recent reports have suggested that genome-wide sequencing is an effective method for identifying rare or new disorders. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in a patient with a unique form of acquired, local osteodysplasia of the oral and maxillofacial region. Case presentation: A 46-year-old woman presented to our hospital with the complaint of gradually moving mandibular teeth (for 6months), changing facial appearance, and acquired osteolysis of the oral and maxillofacial bones, showing mandibular hypoplasia without family history. Upon skeletal examination, there were no abnormal findings outside of the oral and maxillofacial area; the patient had a height of 157cm and bone mineral density (according to dual energy x-ray absorptiometry) of 90%. Results of blood and urine tests, including evaluation of bone metabolism markers and neurological and cardiovascular examinations, were normal. We performed WES of genomic DNA extracted from the blood of this patient and her mother, who did not have the disease, as a negative control. We identified 83 new missense variants in the patient, not detected in her mother, including a candidate single nucleotide variant in exon 14 of PCNT (pericentrin). Critical homozygous or compound heterozygous variants in PCNT are a known cause of microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II accompanied by mandibular hypoplasia, which is similar to the maxillofacial phenotype in this patient. Conclusions: Protein simulations performed using Polymorphism Phenotyping v2 and Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion software indicated that this missense variant is likely to disrupt the PCNT protein structure. These results suggest that this is a new form of osteolysis related to this PCNT variant.

A 75-year-old man presented to the outpatient clinic of the Department of Oral Surgery at Tokai University Hospital with a painful second right mandibular molar. The patient had received root canal treatment at another dental clinic 2 months previously, but the pain did not improve. Because mandibular osteomyelitis was suspected, he was referred to our department. His weight was 68 kg. He had been on treatment for diabetes for 20 years, and he had smoked 40 cigarettes per day for more than 25 years.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish a prediction system for taste sense according to the biochemical data of saliva. Methods: The present study included 100 participants ages >= 20 y without physical, mental, or dental disabilities. Saliva samples were collected from the participants and subjected to biochemical analyses. Taste examination (sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness) was performed using the dropped disk method. Correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed between the taste sense properties and biochemical data of saliva.Results: Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that sweetness sensitivity (in which a higher score indicates lower sensitivity) was significantly affected by various biochemical properties, with the strongest influence being pH. The following prediction equation was determined: Sweetness sensitivity = 1.38 + (-0.12 x low pH [1: If pH < 6.7, 0: otherwise]) + (0.80 x high pH [1: If pH > 7.3, 0: otherwise]) + (0.04 x Fe [mu g/dL]). Analysis of variance showed an overall significant effect of these variables on sweetness sensitivity (R-2 = 0.74; P < 0.01).Conclusion: Saliva pH most strongly affects the sweetness sensitivity. This prediction can be used for evaluations of variations in dietary choices and to help individuals make healthy food choices to maintain health. 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A 53-year-old man presented with the chief complaint of oral noises. No lesion could be observed in the oral cavity. Ultrasound detected several high-echogenicity areas inside the bilateral parotid ducts, and the initial stage of pneumoparotid was diagnosed. It was considered that air had entered each duct in retrograde fashion through the parotid papilla because of repeated compression of the bilateral parotid glands by the patient who had the habit of compressing the buccal region. This case suggests that ultrasound is effective for diagnosing the initial stage of pneumoparotid.

Lateral retropharyngeal lymph node (LRPLN) is located between the internal carotid artery and the prevertebral muscles. Metastasis to the LRPLN is frequent in nasopharyngeal cancer, but is rare in oral cancer. The prognosis of patients with oral cancer with LRPLN metastasis is usually poor. The present study reported a patient with LRPLN metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the upper gingiva, who survived for >7 years. Docetaxel, cisplatin and fluorouracil (TPF) therapy was performed as induction chemotherapy and it was planned to subsequently conduct chemoradiotherapy or surgery. As the tumor only exhibited a transient response to TPF, surgery was selected. Postoperatively, only radiotherapy was performed and a favorable outcome was achieved.