The presence of the microorganisms of untreated canals is one of the main reasons of the failure in the endodontic treatment. The knowledge of variations in the canal systems of the tooth is important for the successful endodontic treatment. In the maxillary molars, the presence of the two separate palatal roots is very rare variations. Although there have been several case reports of maxillary first and second molars, the case reports of maxillary third molars are very few. This case report presents the endodontic treatment of a maxillary third molar with two separate palatal roots. It is important to notice the clinical signs and analyze the radiographs carefully. The use of a microscope is helpful for the visualization of pulpal chamber, and pulpal chamber floor should be investigated thoroughly with endodontic explorer. The straight-line access for all the canal orifices is important for the success in the endodontic treatment.

Synovial cysts are found mainly in periarticular areas of the wrist, ankle, and knee, but also rarely in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Only 1 case of bilateral synovial cysts in the region of the TMJ has been reported. This case report described bilateral cysts in the TMJ in a 54-year-old Korean woman. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bilateral oval cystic lesions lateral to the condylar capsule, whereas computed tomography (CT) apparently did not show the right hand side lesion. The cyst on the left side was surgically excised, and fine needle aspiration was performed on the right hand cyst. After 24 months, the long term follow-up showed no sign of recurrence.

In order to perform the biological investigation of coffee extract containing different molecules, it would be necessary to develop in vitro experimental system rather than animal experiment. Although the animal experiment treated via oral intake or intravenous injection may disclose the whole systemic effect, the in vitro cell culture experiment would be more convenient to analyze direct cellular effect of coffee extract than animal experiment. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop a dialysis method for the crude coffee extract to perform the biological investigation using murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. First of all, the RAW 264.7 cells treated with dialyzed coffee extract were observed, and subsequently their protein extracts were analyzed by gel filtration chromatography, thin layer chromatography, and immunoprecipitation high performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). Resultantly, it was found that the low dose (20μg/mL) of dialyzed coffee extract, about 5 cups of ordinary coffee drinking for human adult, enhanced the growth of RAW 264.7 cells by increased expression of β-actin and Ki-67, and also induced the anti-inflammatory effect by decreased expression of NFkB, TNFα, and LC3 contrast to the high dose (40μg/mL) of dialyzed coffee extract. The low dose of dialyzed coffee extract produced almost no harmful effect on RAW cell culture for 12 hours, rather than it produced stimulatory effect on RAW cells by increasing the cell number and enhancing the protein expression of β-actin, Ki-67. Therefore, it was thought that the low dose of dialyzed coffee extract is applicable to cell culture experiment without difficult purification procedures of coffee elements. In addition, as the contrast cellular effect between the low and high dose of coffee extract was found in this study, it was also presumed that the low dose of coffee extract may play an important role in the inflammatory reaction of murine macrophages.

The fruit of Kochia scoparia Scharder is traditionally used as a medicinal ingredient to treat allergic skin diseases and inflammatory diseases in China, Japan and Korea. Recently, several studies reported that K. scoparia had potential for the cytotoxicity of human cancer cells. To investigate the anti-cancer effect of K. scoparia on oral cancer and to determine the specific type of cell death induced by MEKS treatment. We investigated the anti-cancer effects of K. scoparia, methanol extract (MEKS) in HSC4 human oral cancer cells. We examined the effects of MEKS on the proliferation rate, cell cycle arrest, 7-AAD-ANNEXIN V double stain, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and activation of apoptosis and necroptosis-associated proteins in HSC4 cells. MTT assay results demonstrated that MEKS decreased the proliferation rates of HSC4 cells in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 45.3 μg/ml. MEKS at 50 μg/ml significantly increased the sub-G1 DNA contents of HSC4 cells to 84.8%, versus untreated cells. However, the activation of apoptosis-associated proteins such as cleaved caspase 3, cleaved caspase 8, cleaved caspase 9 and cleaved Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) did not detect. The level of Bax protein markedly increased in MEKS-treated HSC4 cells. In addition, the cell viability of the DPQ pre-treated HSC4 cells with MEKS treatment was significantly greater than that of MEKS treated-cells. These results suggest that MEKS inhibits cell proliferation and induces necroptosis in oral cancer cells and that MEKS may have potential chemotherapeutic value for the treatment of human oral cancer.

The native human saliva obtained through the centrifugation of whole saliva showed characteristic salivary protein complex (SPC) peaks in gel filtration high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using Superose 12 column1,2). In the previous study the SPC peaks in chromatography were explored to know their composition and functions by different detection methods, but still the nature of SPCs was not clearly elucidated so far. In this study the SPC peaks were examined by direct antibody interaction in order to target different antimicrobial and protective proteins distributed in the SPCs via gel filtration HPLC. As the SPC peak shape and migration speed can be changed by antibody binding to specific proteins of SPC, it was found that mucin1 is evenly distribution in all SPCs, while PRPs are more abundant in the late dominant SPC than the early dominant SPC and also in the intermediated SPCs. Most of antimicrobial proteins including lysozyme, LL-37, lactoferrin, β-defensin-1, -2, -3, IgA, mucocidin, and α1-antitrypsin were more abundant in the late dominant SPC than the early dominant SPC, while histatin showed relatively even distribution in all SPCs. Therefore, it was presumed that the late dominant SPC containing abundant antimicrobial and protective proteins could be applied as a biomarker to measure the defensive potential of whole saliva in oral diseases.

NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)―1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone) is a major form of nitrosamine abundant in cigarette smoke and is a powerful carcinogen. Mercury is a major component of the amalgam that is widely used as dental filling material. Concurrent exposure to these two agents may result in their interaction and alter their carcinogenic potential. The present study used an immortalized human epithelial cell system that allows continuous exposure to potential carcinogens, in an attempt to elaborate the carcinogenic potential of mercury and NNK in humans. Cytotoxicity of mercury chloride and NNK was measured by an MTT assay. Parameters of neoplastic cellular transformation such as cell saturation density, soft-agar colony formation, and cell aggregation were analyzed to examine the carcinogenic potential of mercury chloride and NNK. The study showed that exposure to mercury chloride with NNK resulted in increased soft agar colony formation and cell aggregation. ROS generation by mercury chloride was further enhanced by treatment with NNK. The apoptosis that was observed following mercury chloride exposure was further increased upon co-treatment with NNK. The interaction between these two agents was also observed in cytokine mRNA induction. In the present study, mercury alone did not seem to pose a significant threat as a carcinogen, but it may have potential to enhance the carcinogenic potential of a known carcinogen from cigarette smoke. The present study provides valuable data regarding the evaluation of potential carcinogenic risk of mercury chloride and NNK on concurrent exposure.