Nature of Hard Tissues in Oral Pathological Lesions –Using Modified Gallego’s Stain

INTRODUCTION: Histological stains are dyes that bind to various tissues. Special stains form an integral part of routine histopathology as an adjunct to Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), and give meaningful diagnostic information of the tissues available. By using routine histological procedure like H&E alone, it is difficult to differentiate the various hard tissues present in the oral pathological lesions. Modified Gallego's stain can be used as one of the differential stain for these hard tissues. AIM: To differentiate various hard tissues of teeth and to identify the presence of hard tissue components in different oral pathological lesions using Modified Gallego's stain under light microscope. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total sample of 20 cases, amongst which 10 were human extracted teeth and 10 oral pathological lesions were included. From 10 human extracted teeth, five ground sections and five decalcified sections were prepared. From pathological lesions, two slides of each lesion were prepared. All the sections were stained with Modified Gallego's stain and viewed under light microscopy. RESULTS: In properly stained slides, cementum stained red, dentin and bone stained green and enamel stained pink in colour. CONCLUSION: Modified Gallego's stain can be used as a differential stain for various hard tissues in oral pathological lesions and also for ground sections for which histochemical stains are very rare.