Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing the charts of patients who presented to Carolinas Medical Center’s Department of Oral Medicine from January 2004 to June 2009. Inclusion criteria included reporting a sub- jective complaint of dry mouth at the initial visit and having recorded salivary flow measurements. A complaint (yes/no) of oral burning was documented. Patients with acute odontogenic or periodontal infection, those with a history of head and neck surgery and/or radiation therapy, and those with a history of thyroid surgery were excluded from the study. The hospital’s Institutional Review Board approved the present study. We determined the associations and the magnitude of asso- ciations between risk factors and the presence of oral burning. The dichotomous response variable for the present study was a complaint of oral burning versus no oral burning. Information was obtained regarding demographic characteristics (age and gender), medical history, medications, social history, and ex- traoral and intraoral exams. Univariate analyses were performed using the chi square or t-test, or appropriate non-parametric tests. Variables deemed to be clinically relevant, likely to have prog- nostic value from former studies, and significant predictor vari- ables identified with univariate analysis (p0.05) were entered into a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios were calculated to represent the relative risk of the predictor variables. Analyses were performed with the SAS statistical program (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina, USA). Results: We evaluated 170 consecutive dry mouth patients (mean age  SD: 58.0 years  14.0, 153 female and 17 male), and 68 (40.0%) reported a complaint of oral burning. The mean age (SD) for patients with a burning complaint was 61.1 years (13.6) and 56.2 years (13.6) for the patients without a burning complaint. Fifty one (30.0%) patients met the American-Euro- pean criteria for Sjögren’s syndrome (SS): 39 primary SS and 12 secondary SS. Oral burning was identified in 23 (45.0%) of all Sjögren’s syndrome patients, with no difference between SS and non-SS patients, and no differences between primary and sec- ondary SS. Predictor variables in the logistic regression model included: age, gender, current smoking, removable prosthesis, Sjögren’s syndrome, stimulated saliva, taste disturbance, and herbal medi- cation. Utilizing a backward elimination analysis, age (OR 1.03, CI 1.00-1.05, p=0.028) and use of herbal medications (OR 0.26, CI 0.10-0.67, p=0.005) were found to be significant. Conclusions: We hypothesized that approximately half of dry mouth patients would have a concomitant complaint of oral burning, and found a prevalence of 40% in this dry mouth cohort. Variables found to be predictors of oral burning included age and use of herbal medications. Therefore, dry mouth subjects had a 3% greater likelihood of having oral burning with a one year increase in age, while those using herbal medications were 74% less likely to have a complaint of oral burning. The majority of subjects with a burning complaint in this study had the classical clinical features of being peri-menopausal females. The use of herbal medications by dry mouth patients may be protective against oral burning, but large, well-designed interventional stud- ies are needed to confirm these findings. Funding: None. Methicillan Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Within the Dental School Environ Michael N. Hatton D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.D, Steven R. Gill, Ph. D., Elizabeth R. Hatton. School of Dental Medicine at Buffalo, New York Objectives: Our goal was to test for the presence of Meth- icillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on common human contact surfaces within our dental school. Method: 200 environmental surfaces within our dental school were sampled. The sites were swabbed for culture, and then trans- ferred to MRSA selective media (CHROMagar). Plates were incu- bated to allow growth of Methicillin Resistant S. aureus. Positive cultures from MRSA selective agar were inoculated into 1 ml Brain Heart Infusion broth and grown 16 hrs with shaking at 37C. Cells from the culture (0.5 ml) were pelleted by centrifugation and DNA extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Tissue DNA kit (Qiagen, Va- lencia, CA), modified by the addition of lysostaphin to the cell lysis buffer. We confirmed isolated MRSA colonies by the presence of the mec gene. PCR amplification was used to determine SCCmec type, nosocomial (hospital) (SCCmec types I, II and III) or commu- nity acquired strains (SSCmec types IV). Results: Six sites within the dental school tested positive for presumptive MRSA, based on selective media. Two samples were confirmed, by genetic means, to be MRSA. Both samples were SCC type III, a hospital acquired MRSA genetic sub-type. MRSA was found at the school’s front reception desk, and a couch in the student lounge. MRSA was not cultured from randomly tested dental student operatories, patient waiting areas, or bathroom sites. Conclusions: The dental school environment is a potential source of MRSA colonization. Infection control measures should include common use facilities. As a result of this study, the School of Dental Medicine at Buffalo, New York is actively changing its approach to infection control. Premalignant and Malignant Oral Changes Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Soulafa A. Almazrooa, Hani Mawardi, Sharon Elad, Maria Correa, Kristen Stevenson, Sook-Bin Woo, Mark Lerman, Joseph H. Antin, Robert Soiffer, Nathaniel Treister. Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts Objectives: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HSCT) is associated with a wide range of complications and late effects, including secondary solid tumors, of which oral carci- noma is one of the most common. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of a large series of patients treated with HSCT that subsequently developed oral premalig- nant or malignant lesions. Methods: The records of patients who received HSCT and developed oral pre/malignant lesions at 3 centers were reviewed. Descriptive statistics included HSCT course including chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) and details of oral neoplasm including presentation, diagnosis and management; survival cal- culations were also performed. Results: Twenty-four patients were identified that developed premalignant (n=8) or malignant (n= 16) oral mucosal disease at a median time of 3 and 9 years, respectively. Of the 22 that had developed cGVHD, 95% (21/22) presented with oral features. Of those that developed carcinoma, 25% had multifocal involve- ment. The tongue was the most common site (n=7; 44%), fol- lowed by lower lip and buccal mucosa (n=2; 12% for both sites). Dysplasia preceded diagnosis of carcinoma in 13% of cases. Localized recurrence occurred in 29% of cases with 5-year free- dom from recurrence of 46%  16. Five-year overall survival was 75%  22 for patients with premalignant changes and 67%  16 for patients with carcinoma. OOOOE e32 August 2010