Enamel thickness of human mandibular canine: A radiographic study

Enamel thickness of posterior mandibular dentition has been widely studied to explore the role of masticatory load in determining enamel pattern. Mesial-distal pattern of enamel thickness in posterior teeth is either a reflection of increasing magnitude of bite forces posteriorly or a developmental phenomenon. In the earlier sexual dimorphism studies, the thickness of enamel was more in females than males. However, research diverted to the importance of dentin in determining sexual dimorphism and its relation to the bite forces, with males showing greater dentin resulting in bigger teeth in them. This study had two objectives, one to examine the mesiodistal pattern of enamel thickness of mandibular canines and second to examine the sexual dimorphism in enamel proportion of mandibular canines. Crown width, mesial and distal enamel thickness, enamel cap area and tooth area were measured on digital periapical radiographs of mandibular canines of 85 subjects (44 females and 41 males) of Asian ethnicity using ImageJ. Mesial-distal enamel thickness was statistically analyzed by mixed factorial ANOVA and sexual dimorphism was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Enamel was significantly thicker on the distal than the mesial margins of human mandibular canines similar to the posterior dentition pattern. Sexual dimorphism was observed in enamel cap area as well mesial and distal enamel thickness with females showing more relative proportion of enamel than males

A Comparison of Models for Teaching Suturing and Surgical Skills to Dental Students

Learning suturing skills is an important area of the undergraduate curriculum and ideally requires realistic and anatomically accurate surgical training models to prepare students for treating patients. Little is currently understood regarding which model might be perceived by students to be the best or which might most effectively facilitate their learning. The aim of this study was to compare four teaching models: a tabletop silicon dental model, a restricted access tabletop model, a traditional phantom head mounted model, and a Thiel cadaver. Student preferences were explored for each of the models. Following lecture and video-based teaching 67 fourth-year students attended a practical suturing teaching session followed by the second session more focused on the experience of cutting and suturing mucoperiosteal flaps. Forty-six students (67%) gave online anonymous feedback on the first session. The majority (95%) felt prepared to place a simple interrupted suture on a patient, and 88% felt confident to do so. Twenty-eight students (40%) provided feedback on the second session with 82% agreeing that they were prepared to cut a mucoperiosteal flap and 48% felt confident to do this for a patient. The cadaver model was rated as the best of the four models for both suturing and mucoperiosteal flap skills. These results support its use for teaching students to suturing and surgical skills. However, despite this teaching student-rated confidence to cut and suture flaps for a patient remains poor

A Comparison of Models for Teaching Suturing and Surgical Skills to Dental Students

Learning suturing skills is an important area of the undergraduate curriculum and ideally requires realistic and anatomically accurate surgical training models to prepare students for treating patients. Little is currently understood regarding which model might be perceived by students to be the best or which might most effectively facilitate their learning. The aim of this study was to compare four teaching models: a tabletop silicon dental model, a restricted access tabletop model, a traditional phantom head mounted model, and a Thiel cadaver. Student preferences were explored for each of the models. Following lecture and video-based teaching 67 fourth-year students attended a practical suturing teaching session followed by the second session more focused on the experience of cutting and suturing mucoperiosteal flaps. Forty-six students (67%) gave online anonymous feedback on the first session. The majority (95%) felt prepared to place a simple interrupted suture on a patient, and 88% felt confident to do so. Twenty-eight students (40%) provided feedback on the second session with 82% agreeing that they were prepared to cut a mucoperiosteal flap and 48% felt confident to do this for a patient. The cadaver model was rated as the best of the four models for both suturing and mucoperiosteal flap skills. These results support its use for teaching students to suturing and surgical skills. However, despite this teaching student-rated confidence to cut and suture flaps for a patient remains poor