Dental laser education and knowledge among final year dental students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

AbstractAim of the studyTo assess the educational level and the knowledge of the final year dental students at King Saud University regarding the uses of laser in Dentistry.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University in Riyadh. A questionnaire was designed and answered by 94 final year dental students. The questionnaire consisted of 2 parts. First part was about dental laser education and the second one was about the knowledge of dental laser applications. The second part was sub-sectioned to 6 sections. Each section consisted of several items related to the uses of laser in 5 different dental specialties in addition to a section in laser protection. The analysis was performed by scoring 2 for a correct response, 0 for don’t know response and −2 for an incorrect response. Students’ knowledge scores were calculated and transferred to a scale ranged between 2 and −2. Score of ⩾1 was considered as sufficient knowledge, while score of <1 was considered as insufficient knowledge. Descriptive statistics of different items were assessed and analyzed using SPSS program.ResultsMost of the dental student (91.5%) reported that they did not have enough dental laser education. In general, the majority (76%) of dental students had insufficient knowledge regarding the uses of laser in Dentistry. Students’ knowledge of the uses of dental laser in Oral Surgery and Operative Dentistry was better than their knowledge in Periodontic, Pediatric Dentistry/Orthodontic and Endodontic.ConclusionDental students at King Saud University had inadequate laser education and insufficient knowledge regarding the uses of laser in different specialties in Dentistry. More education about dental laser should be added to the curriculum of undergraduate program

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Scanning electron microscope analysis of sealant penetration and adaptation in contaminated fissures

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the penetration and adaptation of two different sealant materials applied under different conditions of contamination using scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. Materials and Methods: A total of 56 extracted human third molar teeth were randomly assigned into eight equal groups. The treatment groups were defined by the combination of two sealant materials (glass ionomer fissure sealant "Fuji Triage" or resin-based fissure sealant "Clinpro TM") and four surface conditions (dry condition, water contamination, saliva contamination or saliva contamination and air-drying). Penetration depth, sealant adaptation and fissure types were evaluated under SEM after sectioning the teeth. Tukey′s test and multiple linear regression analyses were used for statistical analysis. Results: No significant difference in the sealant penetration and adaptation was found between both materials under dry conditions. However, under wet contaminations, resin-based sealant showed less adaptation and penetration with a significant difference when compared to glass ionomer sealant (P < 0.05). The multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant impact of different materials and types of contamination on the sealant penetration and adaptation. Conclusion: Glass ionomer sealant has better fissure penetration and more intimate adaptation than resin-based sealant under wet contamination conditions

Trends in dental treatment performed on children under general anesthesia at the College of Dentistry in Riyadh

Abstract: Objectives: This study was undertaken to compare (i) the characteristics of patients and type of dental treatment carried out on children under general anesthesia (GA) from 1992 - 2000 and 1982 - 1990; (ii) rate of compliance of patients with scheduled 6-monthly follow-up appointment during the two periods. Methods: Records of children who were treated under GA in 1992-2000 were reviewed and the data collected included age of patient at the time of treatment, gender, medical, physical status, indications for treatment and nature of treatment provided. Also the number of times parents brought their children for the 6-monthly recall appointment was recorded. Data for the years 1982-1990 which had earlier been reported were used for comparison. Results: Results showed that, in general, the characteristics of patients regarding age and gender have not changed during the two periods except that more children aged 6-10 years were treated in 1992-2000 than earlier period. Conclusions: Behavior management problem coupled with extensive caries continues to be the major reasons for using GA to treat pediatric dental patients. There were more surgical procedures done in 1982-1990 than in 1992-2000. Also significantly more extractions, stainless steel crowns and pulpotomies were done in 1992-2000. Parental compliance with 6-monthly recall appointment was generally low, nevertheless significantly more patients turned up in 1982-1990 than in 1992-2000.King Saud Universit

Knowledge and attitudes of pediatric nurses regarding oral health care for hospitalized children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background: Pediatric nurses are in a unique position to provide oral health care to hospitalized children and help in the prevention and management of oral diseases. The objectives of this study were to determine pediatric nurses&rsquo; level of oral health knowledge and to evaluate their attitude towards the prevention of oral diseases and willingness to obtain more oral health education and training.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at 6 randomly selected hospitals in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire with items including demographic data, dental knowledge, attitude, and willingness to obtain more information and training was completed by 240 pediatric nurses working in different pediatric medical wards.Results: On average, 64% of surveyed pediatric nurses had acceptable dental knowledge. Only 79% of nurses assess patients&rsquo; mouths on admission. About 77% of nurses claimed to receive instructions regarding oral care before qualification and 72% after qualification. However, 91% showed great attitudes and interest in providing oral care to hospitalized children and were willing to obtain more information about oral health care for children.Conclusion: Pediatric nurses working in Riyadh hospitals had limited oral health knowledge, however, they showed good awareness and a positive attitude toward promoting oral health care to hospitalized children

Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and associations with orofacial symptoms among Saudi primary school children

Abstract Background This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing among primary school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to evaluate associations between sleep-disordered breathing and respiratory conditions/orofacial symptoms. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 1600 questionnaires were distributed to Saudi boys and girls aged 6–12 years from 16 primary schools in Riyadh. The questionnaire covered relevant demographic and personal characteristics, presence of respiratory conditions and orofacial symptoms, and the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. The latter was used to assess the prevalence of symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing and was completed by the participating children’s parents. Results In total, 1350 completed questionnaires were returned (85% response rate). The children’ mean age was 9.2 ± 1.8 years; 733 (54.3%) were boys and 617 (45.7%) girls. Overall, 21% of children were at high risk of sleep-disordered breathing. The prevalence of snoring was 14.4% and that of sleep apnea 3.4%. Boys were at higher risk of sleep-disordered breathing than girls (P = 0.040). Children with respiratory conditions or orofacial symptoms were at higher risk of sleep-disordered breathing (P < 0.0001) than children without these conditions/symptoms. Conclusions Around 21% of Saudi children are at risk of sleep-disordered breathing. There is a strong association between sleep-disordered breathing symptoms and the presence of respiratory conditions or orofacial symptoms

Dental and medical health status and oral health knowledge among visually impaired and sighted female schoolchildren in Riyadh: a comparative study

Abstract Background The impact of visual impairment on oral health in the literature is inconclusive, and the available information on the medical and dental health status of visually impaired children is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dental and medical health status, and to assess the oral health knowledge of visually impaired girls aged 6–12 years, and compare them to that of sighted children. Methods This analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on 79 visually impaired and 83 age-matched sighted female primary school children. The children’s demographic data, medical history, and dental history were obtained through a validated questionnaire. The study population was examined to evaluate their dental caries status using the Decayed Missing Filled Teeth/Surface indices DMFT/DMFS/ and dmft/dmfs for permanent and primary teeth, respectively. Oral hygiene index (OHI), Plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were obtained for periodontal evaluation. Pearson’s Chi-square test and t-test were used for the statistical analyses. Results The general health for both groups was found to be good; however, 21.5% of the visually impaired children had systemic diseases compared with only 4.8% of the sighted children (P = 0.002). Statistically significant differences (P < 0.001) were found between the two groups with regards to OHI. Among the sighted children, 49.4% had good oral hygiene compared with only 22.8% of the visually impaired group. The plaque accumulation was found to be greater among the visually impaired group and gingivitis was also higher. The DMFS score was found to be higher (P = 0.03) among the visually impaired group. Conclusions The visually impaired children had more medical conditions and poorer oral health status compared to their sighted peers

Pharyngeal airway dimensional changes after premolar extraction in skeletal class II and class III orthodontic patients

OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the changes in pharyngeal airway space dimensions following orthodontic treatment of skeletal class II and class III facial deformities with premolar extraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty pre and posttreatment lateral cephalometric radiographs of patients who underwent fixed orthodontic treatment with premolar extraction were collected. The sample was divided into two groups – 32 patients with skeletal class II and 28 patients with skeletal class III malocclusion. Both groups were subdivided into growing patients (16 years old). Nasopharyngeal, palatopharyngeal, and glossopharyngeal airway space dimensions were measured in the pretreatment (T0) and posttreatment (T1) cephalometric radiographs using Dolphin Imaging 11.7 software. Two-way, repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess the in-treatment changes. RESULTS: Nasopharyngeal airway dimension showed similar significant increase in class II (P = 0.042) and class III (P = 0.049) patients from T0 to T1, whereas palatopharyngeal and glossopharyngeal dimensions were insignificantly decreased in both groups. However, both malocclusions followed the same pattern of changes in relation to airway dimensions. In addition, no significant statistical difference was found in the airway spaces between growing and adult patients. CONCLUSIONS: Extraction of premolars did not affect the pharyngeal dimensions except those of the nasopharynx, which showed a significant increase after extraction in both groups