Epidemiological and Clinicopathological Analysis of Odontogenic Tumors: A 20-Year Study

Objective: To perform the epidemiological and clinicopathological analyses of odontogenic tumors in Kerman for 20 years. Material and Methods: The present study investigated collected records from pathology departments of the Faculty of Dentistry, Bahonar, and Shafa teaching-medical hospitals for 20 years. Data on odontogenic tumors was recorded based on age, sex, and tumor location in the information forms. The statistical t-test and the Kappa coefficient computer codes were utilized for data analysis. Results: 38 samples of odontogenic tumors were considered in the present study. The mean age of participants was 31.7± 10.3 years. The frequency of tumors was higher in women (63.2%) and in the lower jaw) 78.9%). Among various tumors, ameloblastoma (63.1%) and odontoma (18.4%) were the most common tumors, respectively. The correlation between clinical and histopathologic diagnoses was 71.8% using the kappa coefficient. Conclusion: Ameloblastoma is the most common odontogenic tumor. The incidence of lesions was higher in the mandible, and odontogenic tumors were higher in women. Since the diagnosis of odontogenic tumors is based on radiographic and histologic appearances, clinical physicians and pathologists should collaborate for the definitive diagnosis of the disease

Repair of horizontal root fracture: A case report

ABSTRACT: Horizontal root fractures in permanent teeth are uncommon injuries among dental traumas. The principle of treating horizontal root fractures of permanent teeth is repositioning and fixation of fractured segment. Diagnosis of tooth fractures based on radiographic findings and the fracture healing process are affected by factors before and after injury. The present case reports the treatment of horizontal root fracture located at the apical-third of upper left and right central incisors. Healing was observed at 1 year follow-up examination

Stressors in Dental Students During the Transition from Theory to Practice: A Qualitative Research

Dentistry is one of the most challenging, demanding, and stressful fields of study. Dental students are expected to acquire various skills, including academic, clinical, and interpersonal skills. This study aimed to investigate the stressors in students during the transition from theory to practice through qualitative research methods and ultimately improve curricula used for learning. This cross-sectional study was performed on fourth to sixth year students of Kerman Dental School through interviews. Interviews related to the experienced clinical stress and challenges and experiences in the clinical environment were conducted with 40 students (16 males and 24 females) who were randomly included in the study and the participants' statements were recorded with their consent. The interview continued until the stage of information saturation and at the end it was confirmed by the participants in the study. Qualitative data were analyzed based on content analysis and then the data were classified. In this study, 8 people were in the fourth year, 16 people were in the fifth year and 16 people were in the sixth year. According to the statements and experiences of students, stressors such as reprimand and lack of time were the most common causes of clinical stress. Other factors, such as professors' attitudes and infection control, also had a significant effect on stress. Patient related factors such as not having a patient, their late or late arrival, and being harassed at work were also cited as causes of stress. Many factors in the clinical environment play a role in the stress of dental students, which can be eliminated or reduced to greatly contribute to the quality of education. According to the results of this study and the recognition of stressors in the clinical environment, more attention of the authorities to this field and the need to review clinical education seems necessar

Validation of a Persian Short-Form Version of a Standardised Questionnaire Assessing Oral Cancer Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes Among Dentists

Objectives: Oral cancer is a global health problem; however, many dentists lack the necessary skills, knowledge and capacity to diagnose oral cancers early. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of a Persian short-form version of a standardised questionnaire to assess dentists’ knowledge, practice and attitudes towards oral cancer. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in May 2015 in Tehran, Iran. An original 39-item English-language questionnaire developed by Yellowitz et al. was translated into Persian using forward and backward translation methods. A total of 15 dental professionals were asked to assess the questionnaire for content validity. Based on their feedback, a 20-item short-form version was prepared, including six demographic, six knowledge, four attitude and four practice items. The translated short-form questionnaire was subsequently distributed to 973 general dental practitioners attending a dental conference in Tehran. Internal consistency and reliability were assessed with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and item-total correlation calculations. Results: A total of 13 professionals and 313 general dentists participated in the study (response rates: 86.7% and 32.2%, respectively). After the elimination of six items (two knowledge, two attitude and two practice items), the validity and reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed. Conclusion: The final Persian 14-item version of the questionnaire had acceptable validity and internal consistency. These results indicate that researchers can use this translated short-form version to evaluate oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and practices among Persian-speaking dentists; this will allow for a comparison of data between different populations

Relationship between Quality of Life and Oral Health Status of Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the quality of life and work ability related to the oral health status of patients with chronic liver diseases. Material and Methods: The sample size contains all patients referred to the internal ward of Afzalipour and Bahonar hospitals due to chronic liver disease from 2019 to 2020. Patient selection was based on a simple census and a questionnaire that contained characteristics information of the patient, Work Ability Index questionnaire and SF-36 questionnaire were completed by the patients and some information was extracted from medical file. The SF-36 questionnaire assesses the quality of life in two general dimensions (physical health and mental health) with the physical function subscale. DMFT, Gingival index, and Periodontal disease index are used to evaluate the severity and extent of gingivitis and periodontitis. For data analysis, ANOVA, Spearman correlation coefficients were used and the significant level was p<0.05. Results: a total of 108 patients were examined. The mean age of participants was 41.2 ± 4.3 years. The DMFT index in patients was also reported as 22.6 ± 7.35. Also, 32.4% of people described their ability to do work as poor, 21.3% as good, and 7.4% as excellent. Patients with poor or moderate workability reported a higher index of DMFT. Among the participants, 61 and 21 patients had gingivitis and periodontitis, respectively. Mean results of total SF-36 indices were reported at a low level in patients with increased DMFT and gum diseases. Patients with poor or moderate workability had a higher index of DMFT. There was a significant relationship between these two variables (p=0.001). However, they were not significantly associated with periodontitis. Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between the SF-36 index, the ability to work and the type of liver disease

Evaluation of gustatory and olfactory function among premenopausal and postmenopausal women and men

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The sense of taste is a chemical sense which allows everyone to perceive the flavor of what is eaten or drunk. Also, the sense of olfaction is also a chemical sense contributing to the sense of taste to perceive the taste and flavor of food. In the present work, the gustatory and olfactory function in pre- and postmenopausal women and men were studied and compared to each other. METHODS: Fifty postmenopausal women, 50 age-matched men, 50 young women and 50 young men were evaluated in this study and enrolled through simple sampling method. The aim of this study was explained for patients and in case of their consent, they were given the questionnaire. Taste threshold for each of the four main tastes for all of the participants in the study was determined at one step between 8 am to 11 am while they had not consumed any food since one hour before the test. The whole mouth taste method was used in this study. Also, the Davidson and Murphy tests were performed and the quality identification and intensity ratings of olfaction were measured. RESULTS: Three individuals among the postmenopausal women group and 2 old men were not able to detect sweet taste even in high concentration; in the group of young men, one man was not able to detect bitter taste even in high concentration. This study showed that 2% of postmenopausal women and 4% of matched men were not able to detect the odor of isopropanol even at a concentration of 70% and there was a significant relationship between odor perception of isopropanol and olfactory intensity between the two groups of pre- and postmenopausal women as well as men. CONCLUSION: Taste dysfunction directly influences nutritional status. In this study, the strength of the sweet taste perception was significantly lower among women after menopause; however, there was no significant difference between the perception of other tastes among postmenopausal women and men of same age. KEYWORDS: Taste; Olfactory; Menopaus

Incidence of impacted mandibular and maxillary third molars: a radiographic study in a Southeast Iran population

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the position of impacted third molars based on the classifications of Pell & Gregory and Winter in a sample of Iranian patients. Study design: In this retrospective study, up to 1020 orthopantomograms (OPG) of the patients who were referred to the radiology clinics from October 2007 to January 2011 were evaluated. Data including the age, gender, the angulation type, width and depth of impaction were evaluated by statistical tests. Results: Among 1020 patients, 380(27.3%) were male and 640(62.7%) were female with the sex ratio was 1:1.7. Of the 1020 OPGs, 585 cases showed at least one impacted third molar, with significant difference between males (205; 35.1%) and females (380; 64.9%) (P = 0.0311). Data analysis showed that impacted third molars were 1.9 times more likely to occur in the mandible than in the maxilla (P =0.000). The most common angulation of impaction in the mandible was mesioangular impaction (48.3%) and the most common angulation of impaction in the maxilla was the vertical (45.3%). Impaction in the level IIA was the most common in both maxilla and mandible. There was no significant diffe-rence between the right and left sides in both the maxilla and the mandible. Conclusion: The pattern of third molar impaction in the southeast region of Iran is characterized by a high prevalence of impaction, especially in the mandible. Female more than male have teeth impaction. The most common angulation was the mesioangular in the mandible, and the vertical angulation in the maxilla. The most common level of impaction was the A and there was no any significant difference between the right and left sides in both jaws

Risk Factors Associated with Denture Stomatitis in Healthy Subjects Attending a Dental School in Southeast Iran

Objectives: There is scant information regarding the multifactorial aetiology of denture stomatitis (DS) in the world and, despite its frequency, associated factors are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors that may be associated with this lesion. Methods: A total of 70 edentulous patients, all wearing removable dentures, were divided into two groups. The test group comprised 43 patients with DS and the control group comprised 27 subjects with clinically healthy palatal mucosa. A thorough history-taking and physical examination were carried out; the subjects also answered a questionnaire. The serum level of vitamin A for each subject was assayed from a blood sample taken after the examination. Results: This study showed a significant relationship between the incidence of DS and three major factors: denture age (in terms of years), the practitioner manufacturing the dentures (general dental practitioner versus dental hygienist), and the nightlong wearing of dentures. Also, the vitamin A serum level was low in 94.29% of all subjects (cases and controls). Conclusion: Although many predisposing conditions were related to this situation, the most important risk factor was the continuous use of the dentures

Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Oral Mucosal Conditions: A Qualitative Research

Objective: To use qualitative research methods to evaluate the experiences of patients with chronic oral diseases. Material and Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit patients from the Oral Medicine Unit of Kerman University Dental School. An experienced independent facilitator convened the focus groups and conducted individual interviews in a non-clinical setting. Focus groups were mixed regarding their gender, age, chronic oral mucosal condition, time since diagnosis, and severity. A total of 39 patients participated in the study, including patients with oral lichen planus, pemphigus, recurrent aphthous stomatitis and leukoplakia. Results: Analysis of the interviews revealed that patient views could be divided into the following themes: biopsychosocial issues, treatment limitations and side effects, unpredictability of the conditions and the potential for malignant transformation. Chronic oral mucosal conditions affected patients' daily lives in various areas, from physical health and functioning to concerns about their future. Conclusion: The oral medicine practitioner's role in treating patients with chronic oral mucosal diseases extended beyond active management and symptomatic relief to the management of all aspects of these conditions that affected their daily lives

Oral health related quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in the year 2012

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this study was investigation of oral and dental side effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in patients with DM type 2. METHODS: In this descriptive, analytic study 121 patients were participated by consecutive method based on the type of diabetes and the age. After the subjects received adequate explanations about the necessity of carrying out such a study, a questionnaire was handed into each patient who gave their consent to take part in the study. Oral lesions consisted of ulcers, erythema, leukoplakia, erythroplakia, candidiasis, angular cheilitis, median rhomboid glossitis, and denture stomatitis based on oral examination. The OHQoL were surveyed by oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation test, T-test, and χ2 by SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 121 patients with diabetes were evaluated in this study [31 males (25.6%) and 90 females (74.4%)]. In this study, there was no significant correlation between OHQoL and decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), periodontal disease index (PDI). OHQoL was associated with higher ages and higher levels of blood sugar (P = 0.002, P = 0.016). The average of OHIP score significantly was increased by xerostomia experience (P = 0.010). CONCLUSION: In this survey, the influence of oral manifestation on OHQoL was low. Xerostomia was the most important symptom in diabetic patients that causes decreasing OHQoL. Age and blood sugar had more influence on this matter as well. KEYWORDS: Diabetes Mellitus; Oral Manifestation; Oral Health Related Quality of Lif