Knowledge, views and attitudes regarding the internet and its use in dentistry among dental undergraduate and postgraduate students -an obsrvational study

The use of computer and information technology is on escalation. There is little contemporary literature outlining the knowledge, views and attitudes of dental students regarding the use of the internet in dentistry especially in our country, India. Hence, it was decided to conduct a pilot questionnaire study regarding the internet and its use in dentistry among dental undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students. A prospective, cross-sectional, self-designed questionnaire with questions on various aspects of usage of the internet by the dental students was circulated among the UG and PG students at two dental institutes of Belgaum, Karnataka, India: KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences (KLE VKIDS) and Maratha Mandal’s NGH Institute of Dental Sciences and Research Centre (MMDC). Completed questionnaires were received from 284 out of 335 UG students and 112 out of 196 PG students, with a response rate of 84.8% and 57.14%, respectively. 82.04% of UG and 87.5% of PG students had personal laptops with access to the internet, indicating easy accessibility to technology. E-mail/surfing was the most common purpose of the internet usage among all the students. tient relationship. Our study highlights that the internet technology is regularly used for entertainment than for academic purposes. Hence each graduating dentist should not only have a thorough knowledge of the internet but should also be trained for literature search and this can only be accomplished by proper and compulsory trai- ning of these students for various applications of the internet in dentistry as practicing evidence-based health care might come in huge way tomorrow

Personnel Protective Equipment: Forgotten Protocol, Invigorated by COVID-19

Objective: To make the readers cognizant about the use of Personnel Protective Equipment (PPEs) and infection control practices which should always form a part of basic patient management and not arise with every emerging disease. Material and Methods: Authors personal clinical experiences and existing literature were summed up to infer relevant information related specifically to dentistry. A comprehensive review was done for the last 15 years in an attempt to explain the current state of understanding on the topic. Results: The authors have tried to compile the most probable reasons as to why PPEs have been a forgotten protocol, which can be enumerated as follows: decreased awareness, financial issues, boredom and lethargy, time constraints, unavailability, carelessness, and burnout due to long procedure and patient feeling discomfort/offended. Conclusion: COVID-19 being highly infectious, a dental clinic is a potential and genuine point of source for many new infections, and no confabulation is less to underline the importance of using PPEs during this pandemic or even otherwise

Atypical facial pain and atypical odontalgia: A concise review

The concept of pain has evolved from that of a one-dimensional sensation to that of a multi-dimensional experience encompassing sensory, discriminate, cognitive, motivational and aff ective qualities. Pain is the presenting symptom of a broad spectrum of diseases that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Establishing a precise diagnosis and providing effective treatment have become major challenges in medical and dental profession. Oro-facial pain is the fi eld of dentistry devoted to the diagnosis and management of chronic, complex, facial pain and oro-motor disorders. Since different diseases produce characteristic patterns of tissue damage, the quality, time course, location of a patient’s pain complaint and the location of tenderness provide important diagnostic clues and are used to evaluate the response to treatment. The general characteristics, etiologic characteristics, pathophysiology, diff erential diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic options of atypical facial pain and atypical odontalgia are described

Factors Affecting Clinical Performance among Pakistani Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To identify the factors affecting clinical performance among dental students and to help addressing these problems. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study in which students of third and final year of dentistry participated. Data was collected from June 2022 till September 2022. Data was collected from the third and final year dental students of both public and private dental colleges within the Pakistan using a purposive sampling technique. Results: A total of 372 dental students participated in this study. Thirty eight (31.9%) students belonged to third year while 81 (68.1%) were final year students from government college. For the private dental college, 121 (47.8%) were third year students while 132 (52.2%) were final year students. Majority of the participants were males from both the colleges. 42.9% of government dental students and 26.5% of private dental students agreed on well-preparedness of clinical instructors. 5.5% from private and 21.0% from government dental colleges agreed that adequate personal protective equipment were present in clinical departments. Conclusion: From this study, it is concluded that there should be focus more focus on the factors to enhance clinical skills, supervision of students in clinical practice to help addressing the problems faced during learning and performance in a clinical environment, to produce self-confident, motivated, knowledgeable, skillful and a professional dental graduates

Article ID 020115, 4

Abstract The concept of pain has evolved from that of a one-dimensional sensation to that of a multi-dimensional experience encompassing sensory, discriminate, cognitive, motivational and aff ective qualities. Pain is the presenting symptom of a broad spectrum of diseases that needs to be diagnosed and treated. Establishing a precise diagnosis and providing eff ective treatment have become major challenges in medical and dental profession. Oro-facial pain is the fi eld of dentistry devoted to the diagnosis and management of chronic, complex, facial pain and oro-motor disorders. Since diff erent diseases produce characteristic patterns of tissue damage, the quality, time course, location of a patient's pain complaint and the location of tenderness provide important diagnostic clues and are used to evaluate the response to treatment. The general characteristics, etiologic characteristics, pathophysiology, diff erential diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic options of atypical facial pain and atypical odontalgia are described

Comparison Between Primary and Secondary Method of Closing Surgical Wound After Tooth Extraction: A Split-Mouth Study

Objective: To compare and assess the primary and secondary closure techniques following extraction of impacted third molars for post-operative complications. Material and Methods: In total, 30 patients ranging between 18-30 years of age and of either sex who had bilaterally impacted mandibular third molars were randomly selected. Split mouth study method was used so that the participants served as their own control. Group 1 consisted of primary closure of left mandibular impacted third molars and Group 2 consisted of secondary closure of right mandibular impacted third molars. Basement evaluations were recorded for each patient along with subjective and objective evaluations for postoperative 7 days. Data analysis was carried out by SPSS 17.0 software using Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon matched-pairs test and t-test. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was assigned as statistically significant. Results: When compared to group 1, group 2 revealed statistically less pain and swelling following the secondary closure of wound from day 1 to 7. There was a significant improvement in mouth opening in Group 2 at day 1 (p=0.0005) and at day 7 (p=0.00001). Conclusion: Secondary wound closure after disimpaction of mandibular third molar results in better postoperative recovery than primary closure

Cone Beam Computed Tomography Evaluation of Root Morphology of the Premolars in Saudi Arabian Subpopulation

Objective: To evaluate root canal configuration and morphology of premolar teeth among Saudi subpopulations using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Material and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, CBCT images of 314 patients comprising 346 maxillary and 412 mandibular first premolar (FPM) teeth, 298 maxillary and 387 mandibular second premolar (SPM) teeth were analyzed to evaluate the number of roots, root canal morphology, and configuration based on the Vertucci's classification. The average intra-class correlation coefficient value was 0.931. Results: In the maxillary first premolar, 52.6% were two separate rooted and single rooted teeth, with one canal in 81.2% of the maxillary second premolar. Among the mandibular FPM, 96.6% of the teeth had one root and canal, and 97.9% of mandibular SPM had one root and canal. Type 1 canal configuration was seen as most common in all premolars. The number of roots in mandibular premolars did not reveal the difference among gender. Conclusion: Wide variations in root canal morphology and canal configuration system exists among maxillary and mandibular premolar teeth

Prevalence of Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis among 7-12-Year-Old School Children in an Indian Subpopulation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To assess the prevalence of dental caries and fluorosis among 7-12-year-old school children in Muradnagar, India. An additional objective was to determine the relationship between dental caries and fluorosis in the studied population. Material and Methods: A total of 1500 school children aged between 7 to 12 years, and both genders were randomly selected for the present study. The selected participants were divided into three groups based upon age, viz 7-8 year (group I), 9-10 year (group II) and 11-12 year (group III). Sterile mouth mirrors and explorers were used for the detection of caries. The water samples were collected to assess the fluoride concentration. The data collected were tabulated and statistically analysed using Chi-square, ANOVA, Spearman’s correlation and t-test wherever applicable. Results: Out of 1500 participants, 54.1% were females and 45.9% were males. The prevalence of dental caries and fluorosis was 89.3% and 93.7%, respectively. The prevalence of caries increased with age (p<0.05) and females showed a higher prevalence in both the dentitions. Most dental fluorosis was ‘very mild’ (40.1%). Prevalence of dental fluorosis increased with age and males showed more fluorosis than females. A negative relationship was found between dental caries and fluorosis (p<0.05). Conclusion: Dental caries and fluorosis are the public health problems in Muradnagar; therefore, preventive programs should be organized to increase awareness among the general people

Prevalence of Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis among 7-12-Year-Old School Children in an Indian Subpopulation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To assess the prevalence of dental caries and fluorosis among 7-12-year-old school children in Muradnagar, India. An additional objective was to determine the relationship between dental caries and fluorosis in the studied population. Material and Methods: A total of 1500 school children aged between 7 to 12 years, and both genders were randomly selected for the present study. The selected participants were divided into three groups based upon age, viz 7-8 year (group I), 9-10 year (group II) and 11-12 year (group III). Sterile mouth mirrors and explorers were used for the detection of caries. The water samples were collected to assess the fluoride concentration. The data collected were tabulated and statistically analysed using Chi-square, ANOVA, Spearman’s correlation and t-test wherever applicable. Results: Out of 1500 participants, 54.1% were females and 45.9% were males. The prevalence of dental caries and fluorosis was 89.3% and 93.7%, respectively. The prevalence of caries increased with age (p<0.05) and females showed a higher prevalence in both the dentitions. Most dental fluorosis was ‘very mild’ (40.1%). Prevalence of dental fluorosis increased with age and males showed more fluorosis than females. A negative relationship was found between dental caries and fluorosis (p<0.05). Conclusion: Dental caries and fluorosis are the public health problems in Muradnagar; therefore, preventive programs should be organized to increase awareness among the general people

The Effect of Pain and Swelling Related to Third Molars on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life

Objective: To evaluate the effect of pain and swelling related to third molars on patients' quality of life prior to third molar surgery. Material and Methods: The effects on quality of life with reference to oral health of 246 healthy patients seeking treatment of third molars were analyzed using the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) questionnaire before surgery. The patients' sociodemographic characteristics, medical and dental history, reasons for third molar removal were recorded. Adverse effects of pain and swelling on oral health-related quality of life were recorded. Results: The mean age of the patients included in the study was 23.15 years, with maximum male patients and the mean OHIP-14 score of 8.01 ± 7.51. About 36.97% of patients reported that their chief complaint was pain/swelling due to third molar infection, and 27.9% of subjects reported one or more of the 14 OHIP items. The odds of reporting for age with ≥25 years was approximately 2 times greater than age with ≤25 years (OR=1.56, 95% CI: 1.01-2.57) and tooth loss due to traumatic history (OR=3.14, 95% CI: 2.12-6.54). Conclusion: Adverse influences on quality of life were seen in a significant number of patients seeking third molar removal. The probabilities increased by 3-fold for patients who had experienced pain or swelling than asymptomatic individuals