Publication Output on Orthodontics Research in Saudi Arabia

Aim: The study aims to present a profile of orthodontics research carried out by Saudi Arabian affiliated authors. Method: This retrospective study was carried out at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. The Web of Science, Clarivate Analytics database was used to obtain the targeted data-set on April 28, 2019. Keyword “Orthodontic” was used in the main search term and the Address option “Saudi Arabia” was written. All the records published up to December 31, 2018, included except letters and notes. The data has been analyzed by using bibliometric indicators, like year-wise distribution and growth; journal’s name, its publishing country and impact factor; national productive organization, international research collaborative institutions, productive authors and list of top cited articles. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 302 papers have been identified by Web of Science on Orthodontics with authorship affiliated to Saudi Arabia. These papers published during 24 years with an average of 12.58 papers per year. These publications received 1,348 citations with an average of 4.46 citations per paper. Majority of papers (n=265; 87.74%) published in the 109 international journals. One hundred and four papers published in 33 journals published from the United States. Top 15 productive organizations of Saudi Arabia, top international research collaborative organizations and productive authors have been calculated. Journals’ impact factor and their publications have also been discussed. Citation pattern of open access and subscription-based publication reveals that open access publications have less number of citations. Conclusion: Upwards trendy of orthodontics research publications found in the recent past. Local researchers should be motivated to cite locally published literature to improve the citation impact of local literature. Research productivity would be increased by opening more postgraduate dental institutes in Saudi Arabia

Psychological distress among undergraduate dental students in Saudi Arabia and its coping strategies—a systematic review

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the studies that have reported on psychological issues among dental students in Saudi Arabia and to develop coping strategies to overcome these mental health-related issues. The present systematic review is in accordance with the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The search for the articles was carried out in the electronic databases by four independent researchers. The data search was performed in the electronic search engines like PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, Embase, Cochrane and Saudi Digital Library for scientific research articles published from January 2000 until December 2020. STROBE guidelines were adopted for qualitative analysis of six articles which met the eligibility criteria. The analysis of the literature revealed that most of the studies included were conducted in the past 8 years in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Findings of this systematic review clearly state that dental students in Saudi Arabia experience higher levels of depression, stress and anxiety and stress during their education period, with a higher stress for female students compared to male students. There is an urgent need to introduce interventional programs and preventive strategies to overcome the long-term effects

KCNT1- related epilepsy: An international multicenter cohort of 27 pediatric cases

ObjectiveThrough international collaboration, we evaluated the phenotypic aspects of a multiethnic cohort of KCNT1- related epilepsy and explored genotype- phenotype correlations associated with frequently encountered variants.MethodsA cross- sectional analysis of children harboring pathogenic or likely pathogenic KCNT1 variants was completed. Children with one of the two more common recurrent KCNT1 variants were compared with the rest of the cohort for the presence of particular characteristics.ResultsTwenty- seven children (15 males, mean age = 40.8 months) were included. Seizure onset ranged from 1 day to 6 months, and half (48.1%) exhibited developmental plateauing upon onset. Two- thirds had epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), and focal tonic seizures were common (48.1%). The most frequent recurrent KCNT1 variants were c.2800G>A; p.Ala934Thr (n = 5) and c.862G>A; p.Gly288Ser (n = 4). De novo variants were found in 96% of tested parents (23/24). Sixty percent had abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Delayed myelination, thin corpus callosum, and brain atrophy were the most common. One child had gray- white matter interface indistinctness, suggesting a malformation of cortical development. Several antiepileptic drugs (mean = 7.4/patient) were tried, with no consistent response to any one agent. Eleven tried quinidine; 45% had marked (>50% seizure reduction) or some improvement (25%- 50% seizure reduction). Seven used cannabidiol; 71% experienced marked or some improvement. Fourteen tried diet therapies; 57% had marked or some improvement. When comparing the recurrent variants to the rest of the cohort with respect to developmental trajectory, presence of EIMFS, >500 seizures/mo, abnormal MRI, and treatment response, there were no statistically significant differences. Four patients died (15%), none of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.SignificanceOur cohort reinforces common aspects of this highly pleiotropic entity. EIMFS manifesting with refractory tonic seizures was the most common. Cannabidiol, diet therapy, and quinidine seem to offer the best chances of seizure reduction, although evidence- based practice is still unavailable.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154940/1/epi16480_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154940/2/epi16480.pd

Microleakage and Resin-to-Dentin Interface Morphology of Pre-Etching versus Self-Etching Adhesive Systems

The purpose of this study was to compare the microleakage and tissue-adhesive interface morphology from Class V restorations using different systems of dentin adhesives. Class V cavities were prepared on buccal surfaces of 27 extracted caries-free molars and premolars. Teeth were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) Prime & Bond NT, a 5th generation system using an initial step of total etch followed by a second step of application of a self bonding primer (2) Clearfil SE Bond, a 5th generation adhesive system employing two separate steps of self-etch priming and subsequent bonding (3) One-up Bond F, a 6th generation one step self-etching, self-priming and self-bonding adhesive. Microleakage and interface morphology of teeth restored with these adhesives and a composite resin were evaluated. Kruskal-Wallis Test (p = 0.05) was used to analyze the results. SEM analysis was used to relate interface morphology to microleakage. The mean and (SD) values of microleakage were: Prime and Bond NT: 0.15 (0.33), Clearfil SE Bond: 0.06 (0.17) and One-up Bond F: 2.96 (0.63). The mean microleakage for One-up Bond was significantly higher than for the other groups (p<0.05). Protruding tags in dentin channels were observed in Prime and Bond and Clearfil systems, but not in One-up Bond. The single step adhesive system, although more convenient for the clinician, uses a low viscosity formulation difficult to keep in place on cavity walls. It also tends to be too aggressive and hydrophilic to create an impermeable hybridized tissue-adhesive interfacial layer resistant to microleakage. Two-step adhesive systems, on the other hand, were retained on all segments of the cavosurface during application, and formed a hybridized interfacial layer resistant to microleakage

Publication Output on Orthodontics Research in Saudi Arabia

Aim: The study aims to present a profile of orthodontics research carried out by Saudi Arabian affiliated authors. Method: This retrospective study was carried out at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. The Web of Science, Clarivate Analytics database was used to obtain the targeted data-set on April 28, 2019. Keyword “Orthodontic” was used in the main search term and the Address option “Saudi Arabia” was written. All the records published up to December 31, 2018, included except letters and notes. The data has been analyzed by using bibliometric indicators, like year-wise distribution and growth; journal’s name, its publishing country and impact factor; national productive organization, international research collaborative institutions, productive authors and list of top cited articles. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 302 papers have been identified by Web of Science on Orthodontics with authorship affiliated to Saudi Arabia. These papers published during 24 years with an average of 12.58 papers per year. These publications received 1,348 citations with an average of 4.46 citations per paper. Majority of papers (n=265; 87.74%) published in the 109 international journals. One hundred and four papers published in 33 journals published from the United States. Top 15 productive organizations of Saudi Arabia, top international research collaborative organizations and productive authors have been calculated. Journals’ impact factor and their publications have also been discussed. Citation pattern of open access and subscription-based publication reveals that open access publications have less number of citations. Conclusion: Upwards trendy of orthodontics research publications found in the recent past. Local researchers should be motivated to cite locally published literature to improve the citation impact of local literature. Research productivity would be increased by opening more postgraduate dental institutes in Saudi Arabia

The Effect of Orthodontic Therapy on Periodontal Health: A Review of the Literature

Objectives. This review aims to evaluate the effect of orthodontic therapy on periodontal health. Data. Original articles that reported on the effect of orthodontic therapy on periodontal health were included. The reference lists of potentially relevant review articles were also sought. Sources. A literature search was conducted using the databases, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases for relevant studies. The search was carried out by using a combined text and the MeSH search strategies: using the key words in different combinations: “periodontal disease,” “orthodontics” and “root resorption.” This was supplemented by hand-searching in peer-reviewed journals and cross-referenced with the articles accessed. Articles published only in English language were included. Letters to the Editor, historical reviews and unpublished articles were not sought. Conclusions. Within the limitations of the present literature review, it was observed that there is a very close inter-relationship between the periodontal health and the outcome of orthodontic therapy

Novel homozygous mutation in the WWOX gene causes seizures and global developmental delay: Report and review

The WWOX gene has a WW domain containing oxidoreductase, which is located at the common fragile site FRA16D at chromosome 16q23. WWOX is a tumor suppressor gene that has been associated with several types of cancer such as hepatic, breast, lung, prostate, gastric, and ovarian. Recently WWOX has been implicated in epilepsy, where studies show homozygous loss-of-function mutation lead to early-infantile epileptic encephalopathy, spinocerebellar ataxia, intractable seizures and developmental delay, and early lethal microcephaly syndrome with epilepsy. Here we investigate two consanguineous Saudi families and we identified three probands with epileptic encephalopathy. Whole exome sequencing revealed a novel homozygous mutation in the WWOX gene in one proband. In addition, we identified a previously reported WWOX mutation in two probands. Later on these findings were confirmed with Sanger sequencing. The underlying mechanism on how WWOX mutations lead to seizure remains elusive. To date very few WWOX mutations have been associated with neurological disorder and our newly identified mutations support the notion that WWOX play an important role in neurons and will aid in better diagnosis and genetic counseling

Implementation of an Outcome-Based Longitudinal Pharmacology Teaching in Undergraduate Dental Curriculum at KSAU-HS Experience

Purpose/objectives: The aim of this study is to present a modification of the structure of the pharmacology educational experience for dental students as a result of the early introduction of a pharmacology course into the pre-professional curriculum. Methods: Three courses of professional dental pharmacology were modified before and/or after delivery by developing general course learning outcomes, lecture-by-lecture learning outcomes and theme mapping to align topics taught within these courses and with those taught in the pre-professional dental program. Results: Final proposals for three professional dental pharmacology courses, which are distributed over three professional years, were prepared based on teaching experience and theme mapping. Topics were added, deleted, transferred from one course to another to afford courses that are fully aligned, relatively comprehensive, longitudinal, with focus on topics relevant to the dental practice without redundancy. In addition, the design of these courses took into consideration the level of coverage of the pre-professional dental pharmacology course. Conclusions: This longitudinal inclusion of pharmacology courses form the second pre-professional year to the third professional year is expected to improve dental students’ pharmacology education experience. Although the last of these courses is a pharmacotherapeutic course, more courses with clinically oriented therapeutic approach are recommended. Keywords: Pharmacology course design, Dental students, Curriculum development, Curriculum mappin