Awareness of Polish society about complications and contraindications in teeth whitening

Introduction and aim: Teeth whitening, which has a positive effect on the quality of life and the human psyche but is associated with side effects and contraindications, is becoming increasingly popular and widespread. The aim of the study was to collect and analyse data concerning the awareness of the Polish population of complications and contraindications to tooth whitening. Material and methods: A survey was conducted using a Google document among teeth whitening and non-whitening individuals. Link to the survey posted on various social groups. Results: People who whiten their teeth in a dental office are the group that showed the highest awareness about the side effects and contraindications of teeth whitening.  People who do not whiten their teeth are more aware than people who whiten outside the dental surgery. The popularised slogans such as the possibility of tooth hypersensitivity, weakening of the enamel or the necessity to follow a "white diet" are known to each study group. The issues connected with the dentist's office were the least popular - persons whitening their teeth outside the dentist's office are not aware of the necessity to professionally clean their teeth before this procedure. None of the study groups have knowledge about the temporomandibular joint problem as a contraindication to teeth whitening. Conclusions: The Polish population shows an average knowledge of teeth whitening. The basic contraindications and complications are known to a broader group of respondents, but there are aspects of whitening about which the knowledge of respondents is low and requires popularisation. In addition, the survey indicates that more research is needed into the relationship between the temporomandibular joint and tooth whitening

Social support as a mediator for musical achievement

This article focuses on the issue of social support received by students of music schools in the context of their musical achievements. The theoretical part of this article contains the characteristics of factors related to the musical achievements of students; the support they receive from their environment is essential for their success in the process of musical education and their subsequent artistic career, in addition to their musical abilities and traits of personality. The research part is devoted to detailed analysis of the support level received by music school students and its correlation to their level of musical achievement. Social support is analysed with a view to its structure, distinguishing the following kinds of support: emotional, evaluative, informative and instrumental received from people who are significant to the music school student and indicates the essential presence of support in the process of musical achievement. Moreover, as part of the presentation of the study, the authors introduce their original tool for measuring social support tailored to the realities of music schools - the Scale of Social Support of the Students of Music Schools (Gluska, 2011). This tool may be applied in the work of educational psychologists and teachers in music schools

Locus of control and styles of coping with stress in students educated at Polish music and visual art schools – a cross-sectional study

The article focuses on identifying differences in the locus of control and styles of coping with stress among young students who are artistically gifted within the fields of music and visual arts. The research group includes Polish students (n = 354) of both music and visual art schools who develop their artistic talents in schools placing particular emphasis on professional training of their artistic abilities and competences within the field of music or visual arts respectively. We make an assumption that different types of difficult situations experienced by youth educated at music and visual art schools may generate differences in dominating personal traits as well as in their sphere of emotions. The results of crosssectional research in 2013 confirm the assumption regarding differences among music and visual art school students both with regard to the source of the locus of control, understood as the personality variable, and dominating styles of coping with stress. Moreover, a positive correlation between the tendency towards internal locus of control and a task-oriented style of coping with stress in difficult situations has been observed in music school students