Sex Determination Using Human Sphenoid Sinus in a Northeast Iranian Population: A Discriminant Function Analysis.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Sex determination, using skeletal remains, is of paramount importance in forensic studies. The skull accounts for the most sexual dimorphism after the pelvis. Recent studies have shown that paranasal sinuses are valuable in sex determination and considering the location of the sphenoid sinus, the risk of traumatic injuries to this structure is low. PURPOSE The present study aimed to evaluate the morphology of the sphenoid sinus and determine the validity of sphenoid sinus volume (SSV) in sex determination using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. MATERIALS AND METHOD In this cross-sectional retrospective study, CBCT images of 469 Iranian patients (186 male and 283 female), aged 24-45 years, were selected. The morphology of the sphenoid sinus was recorded. 3D Slicer software (4.10.0) was used to assess SSVs in coronal and axial planes. For data analysis, t-test, chi-square test, and discriminant function analysis (DFA) were performed using predictive analytics software (ver. 18.0). RESULTS The most common morphology of the sphenoid sinus in both genders was the sellar type (50.5%). SSV was significantly larger in males than in females (p< 0.001). DFA showed that the capability of SSV in sex identification was 86.0% and 92.9% in males and females, respectively. CONCLUSION The findings of this study suggest that SSV is a reliable variable in gender discrimination in a northeast Iranian population. However, since the morphology of the sphenoid sinus and sex were independent of each other, the morphology of the sphenoid sinus is not a suitable indicator for sex determination

Designing and validating a questionnaire on oral health care knowledge, attitude, and practice of dental staff

Objectives: This study aimed to design a valid questionnaire to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of Mashhad Dental school staff about oral health care and to assess the validity and reliability of this instrument. Methods: The “Dental Staff Awareness of Oral Health Care” (DSAOHC) was divided into three concepts; knowledge, attitude and practice. Ten experts of Mashhad Dental School contributed to design the questionnaire and assessed the face and content validity (I-CVI and S-CVI/AV) in two rounds. The necessity of each item was evaluated according to Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Construct validity, internal consistency, and reliability were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, homogeneity coefficients, and test-retest by distributing the instrument among 207 dental staff working in other dental schools and private clinics. Results: Based on the acceptable results of I-CVI, S-CVI/AV (>0.7), and CVR (>0.62), the final version of DSAOHC was approved with 34 questions, including 10 questions about background information, 8 questions for the knowledge, 5 questions for attitude and 11 questions related to practice. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were acceptable for all domains. The RMSEA criterion was ≤ 0.05 and its upper band confidence interval (CI 90%) was ≤ 0.1. Also, CFI indicated the suitability of the model (the desired value of CFI>0.9). Inter-Class Correlation/ICC revealed the appropriate measure (ICC = 0.998). Conclusion: The measures showed that this instrument is valid and reliable, also culturally adjusted to and acceptable for this community. It may adequately evaluate staffs’ knowledge, attitude, and practice toward oral health

Higher prevalence of dental caries and periodontal problems among refugees: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND We assessed the prevalence data on oral health diseases, namely dental caries and periodontitis, among refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. METHODS A systematic search of Scopus, Embase, and PubMed retrieved 1225 records; following title and abstract screening, 58 studies remained for full-text eligibility screening based on pre-defined inclusion criteria. Twenty-six studies were included in the review. RESULTS Dental caries and tooth loss due to caries were high in refugee populations, regardless of their age, gender, or nationality. The adult population had a mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index score of 9.2 (standard deviation (SD) = 2.3); children had a score of 3.1 (SD = 1.1) for deciduous teeth and 2.5 (SD = 1.1) for permanents. Caries prevalence among refugees ranged from 4.6% to 98.7%, and gingivitis from 5.7% to 100%, indicating a high heterogeneity in their oral health. Regarding oral health accessibility, 17% to 72% of refugees had never been to a dentist, showing a very low level of accessibility to dental health services. CONCLUSIONS Interventions and policies need to be designed to reduce oral health inequalities among refugee populations and asylum seekers, and host countries must implement strategies to increase their access to oral health care. Existing data should be used to set priorities for improving the oral health of refugees. REGISTRATION Open Science Framework: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SU59K

Three-Dimensional Scaffold from Decellularized Human Gingiva for Cell Cultures: Glycoconjugates and Cell Behavior

Objective: We studied both the presence of some carbohydrate compounds in a three-dimensional (3D) matrix harvested from human gingiva and the cell behavior in this matrix.Materials and Methods: In this experimental research, in order to prepare 3D scaffolds, human palatal gingival biopsies were harvested and physically decellularized by freeze-thawing and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The scaffolds were placed within the rings of blastema tissues obtained from a pinna rabbit, in vitro. We evaluated the presence of glycoconjugatesand cellular behavior according to histological, histochemical and spectrophotometry techniques at one, two and three weeks after culture. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)comparedthe groups.Results: Extracellular matrix (ECM) remained after decellularization of tissue with 1% SDS. Glycoconjugate contents decreased meaningfully at a higher SDS concentration (p<0.0001). After culture of the ECM scaffold with blastema, we observed increased staining of alcian blue, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and toluidine blue in the scaffold and a number of other migrant cells which was caused by cell penetrationinto the scaffold. Spectrophotometry results showed an increase in glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) of the decellularized scaffolds at three weeks after culture.Conclusion: The present study has shown that a scaffold generated from palatal gingival tissue ECM is a suitable substrate for blastema cell migration and activity.This scaffold maypotentially be useful as a biological scaffold in tissue engineering applications