Knowledge and Attitude of Oral Health Professionals in the Management of Avulsed Teeth

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and to compare the attitude and management of tooth avulsion between the general dentist and the specialist all with dental interns.  Materials and Methods:16-point questionnaires have been developed to a similar study and have been validated by a group of specialist.  The first part of the survey contained demographic data. The second part consisted of eight questions checking dentists’ knowledge on the treatment of avulsed teeth. All in which took part in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and covered 311 dentists. Data were analyzed with SPSS program version 21Results: 583 questionnaires have been distributed and a total of 311 were collected. Which consisted 53.34% of distributed surveys. Almost two-third (219) of the surveyed populations have never treated any patient with dental avulsion. Amongst those who had such experience, the majority treated at least one case (35.9%), there were also 22 (23.9%) dentist who treated more than 5 avulsed teeth. 25 of 311 dentist have never received education or training in the management of tooth avulsion. Conclusion: there is a need to familiarize oral health professions with the needed knowledge and management of avulsion through lectures and proper training. Keywords: Avulsion; knowledge; management; oral professional; denta

Antiplatelet Intake Medications for Patients Undergoing Dental Surgery

This study aims at exploring the patients taking antiplatelet medications who are undergoing dental surgery, physicians and dentists must weigh the bleeding risks in continuing antiplatelet medications versus the thrombotic risks in interrupting antiplatelet medications. Bleeding complications requiring more than local measures for hemostasis are rare after dental surgery in patients taking antiplatelet medications. Conversely, the risk for thrombotic complications after interruption of antiplatelet therapy for dental procedures apparently is significant, although small. When a clinician is faced with a decision to continue or interrupt antiplatelet therapy for a dental surgical patient, the decision comes down to “bleed or die.” That is, there is a remote chance that continuing antiplatelet therapy will result in a (nonfatal) bleeding problem requiring more than local measures for hemostasis versus a small but significant chance that interrupting antiplatelet therapy will result in a (possibly fatal) thromboembolic complication. The decision is simple: It is time to stop interrupting antiplatelet therapy for dental surgery

The prevalence of malocclusion and the need for orthodontic treatment among adolescents in the northern border region of Saudi Arabia: an epidemiological study

Abstract Background To assess the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among adolescents using the dental health component (DHC) of the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN). Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 (mean age 16.25 ± 1.09) adolescents randomly selected from the northern border region of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The northern border region is sub-divided into three governorates: Ar’ar (186), Rafha (142) and Turayf (172). The data were recorded in questionnaires to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and estimate of DHC of the IOTN index. Results The most common malocclusions in order of prevalence were Angle’s Class I (52.8%), Angle’s Class II (31.8%), Angle’s Class III (15.4%), crowding (47.2%), excessive overjet (> 2 mm) (22.2%), reduced overjet ( 2 mm) (23.4%), reduced overbite (< 1 mm) (12.2%), anterior crossbite (4.8%), posterior crossbite (9.4%) and open bite (4.6%). The most common facial profiles determined in the sagittal plane, were the straight facial profile (49.2%), convex (42.6%) and concave (8.2%). The prevalence of Grade 1 and 2 DHC was 49.4%, Grade 3 was 29.6%, Grade 4 and 5 was 21%. The grades of DHC of IOTN index were as follows: 48.73% of males and 50.22% of females showed grades 1 and 2. Grade 3 was observed in 30.32% of males and 28.69% of females. Grades 4 and 5 were recorded in 20.93% of males and 21.07% of females. Conclusions The prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among the north border region of KSA is comparable with that of other regional studies