Clinical activities suspended: How the COVID-19 affected the self-confidence of Italian dental students

Introduction: COVID-19 emergency caused several effects on the dental educational system, especially affecting courses including practical activities. The study aims to evaluate the impact of the suspension of dental clinical activities on the Italian dental students' self-confidence. Furthermore, the other purpose of the research is to find an integrative didactics solution to improve the clinical training of dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was administered to evaluate the impact of the suspension of clinical activities on dental students' self-confidence. A 67-questions survey tested the students' self-confidence in several dental disciplines (Conservative Dentistry, Endodontics, Oral Surgery and Dental Emergency). The study reached a sample of 193 dental students and the answers from 9 different Italian dental schools were analysed. Results: The degree of students' self-confidence for all the dental disciplines investigated was found statistically different between the periods before and after the interruption of clinical activities. The students proposed, as a potential solution to improve their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, to combinate the use of a video tutorials and dental simulators. Conclusion: The interruption of the training in clinical practice significantly affected the educational career and the self-confidence of students. An alternative teaching method involving the use of video tutorials as support in teaching clinical procedures deserves to be considered

Digital Dental Models: Is Photogrammetry an Alternative to Dental Extraoral and Intraoral Scanners?

Background: 3D models are nowadays part of daily clinical practice. Photogrammetry is a brand-new method for transforming small objects into 3D models while keeping their original shape and size. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, in terms of precision and trueness, of a digital dental model acquired with photogrammetry compared with those obtained using extraoral scanners and intraoral scanners, starting from the same plaster model. Methods: A plaster model was converted into a digital model using photogrammetry, an extraoral scanner and an intraoral scanner. Different references were measured twice at a distance of 30 min for each model, on the digital models using the software Blender and on the plaster model using a calibre. The Interclass Correlation Coefficient was calculated for each pair of measurements. A volumetric analysis was performed by superimposing the digital models. The coefficient of variation was calculated. A two-way ANOVA test was conducted. Results: For each reference, the coefficient of variation was less than 3%, and the two ANOVA tests resulted in a non-significant value in both cases (p > 0.05). The volumetric analysis demonstrated good agreement between the models derived from the different acquisition methods. Conclusions: Photogrammetry seems to be a good method for acquiring digital models starting from a plaster model, all the methods tested seem to be good for obtaining an accurate three-dimensional digital model. Other studies are needed to evaluate clinical efficacy

Proposal for Introducing a Digital Aesthetic Dentistry Course in Undergraduate Program: Contents and Ways of Administration

Background: Nowadays, digital dentistry is a fundamental skill that dentists need to acquire at this time. The digital workflow has gained acceptance and is widely used in most disciplines of dentistry. For this reason, it might be advisable to include this content in the undergraduate curriculum. The aim of this work was to create a course in digital aesthetic dentistry and evaluate its effectiveness. Methods: Dental students at the University of Verona (from third to sixth year) participated in a 2-h course on photography, digital aesthetic analysis, and digitally planned rehabilitations. Students were randomly divided into two groups, the first group attending the course with video tutorials and the second group attending the traditional class with slides. The students’ ability to perform digital aesthetic analysis and rehabilitation was tested. In addition, a questionnaire was completed to determine student satisfaction with the course and method of delivery. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: The course was highly appreciated, especially by the students who received the video tutorials. Good results were obtained in the performance of digital analysis and rehabilitation, which were better in the first group. Conclusions: Digital aesthetic dentistry was a success in terms of newly acquired skills. From this point of view, the proposal of a course on this subject in the undergraduate curriculum deserves a close evaluation. The video tutorial method seems to be a good way to teach operative digital procedure

Telediagnosis of dental caries: Possible or impossible? A pilot cross‐sectional study

Abstract Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of teledentistry (based on a home intraoral imaging protocol) in detecting dental caries and to assess the accuracy of this method compared to clinical examination. Methods Forty‐three patients were recruited for the study. Using a protocol for taking intraoral photographs at home with a smartphone proposed by the Dental School of Verona, a remote diagnosis of dental caries (TD) was performed by an experienced dentist. The same caries sites were also assessed by clinical diagnosis (CD) by a second experienced dentist. Ten photos were taken at home in five different perspectives, with and without flash, and emailed to one of the authors. The best five photos were selected for telediagnosis. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II) score was used for caries diagnosis. Statistical tests were performed: Sensitivity and specificity of TD, the positive and negative predictive value of TD (PPV–NPV), and Spearman correlation to evaluate the relationship between the scores of TD and CD. Results A total of 430 photographs were submitted; TD was performed on 215 photographs and 43 patients were visited. A total of 1201 teeth were analyzed. The sensitivity of TD was 74.0, the specificity was 99.1, the PPV of TD was 91.7, and the NPV was 96.4. The Spearman correlation was 0.816, showing a very strong correlation between the values obtained with TD and CD. Conclusions The study showed good potential for TD, which proved to be a feasible method to combine with routine caries diagnosis in daily preventive dentistry practice

Analysis of Outcomes in Ischemic vs Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation A Report From the GARFIELD-AF Registry

IMPORTANCE Congestive heart failure (CHF) is commonly associated with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), and their combination may affect treatment strategies and outcomes