The mental foramen is a funnel-like opening in the lateral surface of the mandible at the terminus of the mandibular canal. This foramen is contained entirely within the buccal cortical plate of bone. Generally the mental foramen is difficult to locate. There are no absolute anatomical landmarks for reference and the foramen cannot be clinically visualised or palpated. As a result, the reported anatomical position of the mental foramen has been variable and the most common location being below the apex of the second premolar or between the apices of first and second premolars. The position of...

The systemic disease that an oral physician suspects is usually of greater significance to the patient than the oral lesion with which he presented.Laboratory investigation plays a very important role in diagnosing various oro-mucosal lesions, various oral manifestations of systemic disease which manifest in the oral cavity & to treat them appropriately. Laboratory investigation has become an important part of medical diagnostic procedure by adding its objective information to the more subjective history and physical examination of the patient. In last few decades laboratory investigation...

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) has been considered an enigmatic condition because the intensity of pain rarely corresponds to the clinical signs of the disease. Various local, systemic and psychological factors are associated with BMS, but its etiology is not fully understood. Also there is no consensus on the diagnosis and classification of BMS. A substantial volume of research has been focused on BMS during the last two decades. Progress has been made but the condition remains a fascinating, yet poorly understood area, in the field of oral medicine. Recently, there has been a resurgence of...