Hyperdontia is the presence of one or more teeth in excess of the normal dental formula, and the resulting teeth are described as supernumerary. The condition is common enough to appear in routine practice but variable enough in presentation that the decision to intervene is rarely straightforwar...

Few patients complete orthodontic treatment without asking whether their teeth will move back. The honest answer is that they will, to some degree, in the majority of cases. Relapse is not a failure of treatment but a predictable biological response, and understanding why it happens is the basis ...

The mandible is the largest and most frequently fractured bone of the facial skeleton, and its management sits at the interface between trauma surgery and restorative dentistry. Treatment has shifted over four decades from prolonged maxillomandibular fixation towards rigid internal fixation with ...

Chronic liver disease affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and its prevalence continues to rise with the epidemic of metabolic liver disease. The liver is central to haemostasis, drug metabolism and immune competence, and its failure therefore alters the risk profile of almost every ...

Excessive gingival display, commonly described as a gummy smile, is one of the most frequent aesthetic concerns presented to dental practitioners. The condition is not a single entity but a clinical presentation that can arise from skeletal, gingival, muscular or dental factors, and the treatment...

Drug-induced gingival overgrowth is a well-recognised adverse effect of several widely prescribed medications, and it remains one of the most common drug-related findings in periodontal practice. The condition produces firm, fibrous enlargement of the gingiva that can interfere with speech, masti...

Denture stomatitis is an inflammatory condition of the denture-bearing mucosa that affects a large proportion of removable prosthesis wearers, yet it is frequently dismissed as a cosmetic annoyance. The condition is driven by a Candida biofilm on the fitting surface of the prosthesis, and it is m...

Chronic kidney disease affects an estimated 850 million people worldwide, and the number of patients surviving on dialysis or with a renal transplant continues to rise. These patients carry an oral disease burden that is substantially higher than that of the general population, and their medical ...

Angular cheilitis is an inflammatory lesion of the labial commissures that presents with erythema, fissuring and crusting at the corners of the mouth. It is one of the most common conditions encountered in general dental practice, yet it is frequently treated as a simple fungal infection and allo...

Adverse reactions to dental materials are uncommon but they are not rare, and they are frequently misdiagnosed because the oral mucosa responds to allergens in a limited number of ways. A burning sensation, a persistent ulcer or an unexplained area of erythema may all represent a hypersensitivity...

The xerostomia is the symptom that the patient describes as the dry mouth, and the Sjogren syndrome is the systemic autoimmune condition that the clinician identifies as one of the causes that the symptom reveals. The dry mouth that the patient reports may follow the medication, the radiation, th...

The sinus lift is the augmentation procedure that the clinician performs to create the bone height that the posterior maxilla requires for the implant, and the choice between the lateral window and the transcrestal approach determines the surgical trauma, the healing, and the implant that the sit...

Post-extraction bleeding is one of the most common and most distressing experiences after a tooth extraction. For most patients, a small amount of oozing from the extraction site for 24 to 48 hours after the procedure is completely normal. However, when bleeding becomes excessive, prolonged, or d...

The skeletal class III malocclusion is the condition that the clinician treats with the orthognathic surgery or the camouflage orthodontic treatment, and the decision between the two paths determines the function, the aesthetics, and the stability that the patient receives. The orthognathic surge...

Interproximal enamel reduction — commonly referred to as IPR, slenderizing, stripping, or contouring — is the controlled removal of small amounts of enamel from the proximal surfaces of teeth. Despite sounding more invasive than it is, IPR is one of the most widely used and clinically safe proced...

The gingival graft is the surgical procedure that the periodontist performs to restore the keratinized tissue and to cover the exposed root, and the choice between the free gingival graft and the connective tissue graft determines the outcome that the patient receives. The free gingival graft har...

Denture adhesives — commonly known as fixatives or denture creams — are among the most widely used adjuncts in prosthodontic care. Millions of complete and partial denture wearers use some form of adhesive daily, often without a clear understanding of what these products do, when they should be u...

When a young patient presents with an immature tooth that has lost its vitality — typically due to trauma or deep caries — the endodontist faces one of the most consequential decisions in paediatric endodontics. The permanent root has not finished forming, the apex remains open, and the tooth is ...

The ankyloglossia is the condition that the lingual frenulum restricts the movement of the tongue, and the release of the frenulum in the infant is the procedure that the clinician performs to restore the function that the feeding and the speech require. The assessment that the clinician performs...

Dental amalgam fillings have been in clinical use since the mid-19th century, making them one of the most historically established restorative materials. In 2026, the conversation around amalgam replacement has shifted from a simple material preference debate to a nuanced clinical assessment of w...

The uncontrolled hypertension is the condition that the dental practice meets in the patient who presents with the elevated pressure that the guideline does not permit for the elective treatment, and the management of this patient requires the deferral of the dental procedure and the referral to ...