Pairing as an instructional strategy to promote soft skills amongst clinical dental students

Training dentists today is challenging as they are expected to provide a wide range of dental care. In the provision of good dental care, soft skills are equally important as clinical skills. Therefore in dental education the development of soft skills are of prime concern. This study sought to identify the development of soft skills when dental students are paired in their clinical training. In this perception study, four open-ended items were used to elicit students’ feedback on the appropriateness of using clinical pairing as an instructional strategy to promote soft skills. The most frequently cited soft skills were teamwork (70%) and communication (25%) skills. However, both negative and positive behaviours were reported. As for critical thinking and problem solving skills, more positive behaviours were reported for abilities such as to explain, analyze, find ideas and alternative solutions, and make decisions. Leadership among peers was not evident as leading without legitimate authority could be a hindrance to its development. If clinical pairing is to be used as an effective instructional strategy to promote soft skills amongst students, clear guidelines need to be developed to prepare students to work in a dental team and the use of appropriate assessment tools can facilitate the development of these soft skills

Effect of new zirconia surface coatings on the surface properties and bonding strength of veneering zirconia substrate

Zirconia ceramic dental restorations showed a low bond strength to veneering ceramic because of there is no inherent glass content along with a nonpolar covalent bond in its matrix. Two zirconia coatings by airbrush spraying were used as a new surface treatment on zirconia substrate to create surface roughness and improved bond strength to the veneering ceramic. Unsintered yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powder was partially sintered at 1100 °C to produce powders with two particle sizes; A = 26.0 ± 0.3 μm and B = 47.0 ± 0.5 μm. Unsintered YSZ blocks were sectioned into 50 discs of 25 mm in diameter and 2.5 mm in thickness. The discs were divided according to the surface treatments into three groups; ten sintered YSZ discs were blasted by airborne particle abrasion (APA) with 50 μm aluminium oxide particles as control group; twenty unsintered YSZ discs were coated with a mixture of glaze ceramic and YSZ powders (M1), and twenty unsintered YSZ discs were coated with a mixture of ceramic liner and YSZ powders (M2). Based on the sizes of the YSZ powders, the coated groups subdivided into M1A, M1B, M2A and M2B. The surface area roughness (Sa), surface morphology, elemental composition, phase transition and shear bond strength test (SBS) were assessed. The collected data were analysed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test at (P < 0.05). The Sa results revealed significant differences among all groups (P < 0.000). The coated groups showed higher Sa and SBS values with a significant difference than APA. The M1B group exhibited higher values of Sa (10.33 μm) and SBS (37.54 MPa) with significant differences among the other tested groups. The zirconia specimens treated with new coatings significantly improved the shear bond strength to the veneering ceramic

Effects of different implant-abutment connections on micromotion and stress distribution: prediction of microgap formation

The aim of this study was to analyse micromotion and stress distribution at the connections of implants and four types of abutments: internal hexagonal, internal octagonal, internal conical and trilobe. Methods, A three dimensional (3D) model of the left posterior mandible was reconstructed from medical datasets. Four dental implant systems were designed and analysed independently in a virtual simulation of a first molar replacement. Material properties, contact properties, physiological loading and boundary conditions were assigned to the 3D model. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a 95% confidence interval and Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) multiple comparison test

Finite element analysis of different surgical approaches in various occlusal loading locations for zygomatic implant placement for the treatment of atrophic maxillae

The aim of this study was to compare two different types of surgical approaches, intrasinus and extramaxillary, for the placement of zygomatic implants to treat atrophic maxillae. A computational finite element simulation was used to analyze the strength of implant anchorage for both approaches in various occlusal loading locations. Three-dimensional models of the craniofacial structures surrounding a region of interest, soft tissue and framework were developed using computed tomography image datasets. The implants were modelled using computer-aided design software. The bone was assumed to be linear isotropic with a stiffness of 13.4 GPa, and the implants were assumed to be made of titanium with a stiffness of 110 GPa. Masseter forces of 300 N were applied at the zygomatic arch, and occlusal loads of 150 N were applied vertically onto the framework surface at different locations. The intrasinus approach demonstrated more satisfactory results and could be a viable treatment option. The extramaxillary approach could also be recommended as a reasonable treatment option, provided some improvements are made to address the cantilever effects seen with that approach

The effect of fiber post location on fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary premolars

Background. There is no sufficient literature on the effect of post location on endodontically treated premolar teeth with 2 roots. Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of fiber post location on fracture resistance and failure mode of endodontically treated premolars with 2 roots. Material and methods. Fifty extracted maxillary first premolars with 2 roots were divided randomly into 5 groups. Group 1 was comprised of sound teeth, which received only metal crowns (control). Teeth from groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were decoronated 2 mm above the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) and were endodontically treated. No post was placed in group 2 teeth. Teeth from groups 3, 4 and 5 were given a fiber post placed in the buccal canal, palatal canal, and both buccal and palatal canals, respectively. All teeth in groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 were built up with composite and full coverage metal crowns. A compressive static load was applied at an angle of 25 degrees to the crowns with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min, until fracture. Results. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences among the groups (p = 0.002). A post hoc test showed significantly lower fracture resistance of group 4 compared to group 5 (p = 0.011). Furthermore, group 2 had significantly less fracture resistance compared to group 1 (p = 0.021) and group 5 (p = 0.002). According to Fisher's exact test, different post locations are non-significantly associated with fracture mode (p = 0.256). Conclusions. Fiber post location has a significant effect on fracture resistance of severely damaged, endodontically treated maxillary premolars with 2 roots. However, post placement in the palatal root is preferred, as it maintains the restorability of the tooth

Effects of different angulation placement of mini-implant in orthodontic

Orthodontic is one of the treatments in dentistry field which concerned on malocclusion treatments such as improper bites, tooth irregularity and disproportionate jaw relationships. The mini-implant (OMI) is one of the components used in the orthodontic treatment, besides braces and spring. The application of OMI has been well accepted in orthodontic treatment. However, one of the main factors of OMI failures is the implant insertion procedure in which the clinician find it difficult to obtain the best angle to insert the OMI. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate stress in an OMI and bones using the finite element analysis (FEA) with variations of insertion angles and to identify their optimal angle for the implant placement. The three dimensional (3D) model of a left maxillary posterior bone section was constructed based on CT image dataset. That 3D model consists of cortical bone, cancellous bone, second premolar, first molar and second molar teeth. The 3D model of OMI was placed between root of second premolar and first molar teeth. The OMI was simulated with seven different angles of insertions: 30˚, 40˚, 50˚, 60˚, 70˚, 80˚ and 90˚. Within the seven different insertion angles, the results showed that the increase of insertion angle reduced the maximum equivalent von Mises stress in cortical bone, cancellous bone and OMI. Based on this FEA study, the optimal angle placement of OMI is when the implant positioned at vertical angle (90˚) to the bone surface

Stress distributions in maxillary central incisors restored with various types of post materials and designs

Different dental post designs and materials affect the stability of restoration of a tooth. This study aimed to analyse and compare the stability of two shapes of dental posts (parallel-sided and tapered) made of five different materials (titanium, zirconia, carbon fibre and glass fibre) by investigating their stress transfer through the finite element (FE) method. Ten three-dimensional (3D) FE models of a maxillary central incisor restored with two different designs and five different materials were constructed. An oblique loading of 100 N was applied to each 3D model. Analyses along the centre of the post, the crown-cement/core and the post-cement/dentine interfaces were computed, and the means were calculated. One-way ANOVAs followed by post hoc tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the post materials and designs (p = 0.05). For post designs, the tapered posts introduced significantly higher stress compared with the parallel-sided post (p < 0.05), especially along the centre of the post. Of the materials, the highest level of stress was found for stainless steel, followed by zirconia, titanium, glass fibre and carbon fibre posts (p < 0.05). The carbon and glass fibre posts reduced the stress distribution at the middle and apical part of the posts compared with the stainless steel, zirconia and titanium posts. The opposite results were observed at the crown-cement/core interface

Clinical pairing revisited: a study at the University of Malaya, Malaysia

This study is part of ongoing educational research conducted by the Department of Conservative Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia, to evaluate the perception of clinical pairing. A thirteen-question survey was distributed to 148 dental students after they had experienced four-handed dentistry. The objectives were to identify the advantages, disadvantages, and the acceptance of the implementation of clinical pairing from the students' point of view. The responses from the open-ended questions were categorized into six main themes (areas of interest): quality-related (Q), patient-related (PT), partner-related (P), lecturer-related (T), infection control (IC), and learning environment (L). Data analysis was done using SPSS version 18. Results indicated that the students perceived they possessed enough knowledge regarding clinical pairing. However, it was found that they still preferred to work independently as compared to working in pairs. The benefits of clinical pairing may not be viewed in the same vein by both dental students and teachers. The quality-related theme was perceived by students as the main advantage of clinical pairing, whilst the partner-related theme was perceived otherwise. The study also revealed that students may have some preconceived notions about pairing that may have impaired their acceptance. As a consequence, some reluctance was seen in their responses

Clinical pairing revisited: a study at the University of Malaya, Malaysia

This study is part of ongoing educational research conducted by the Department of Conservative Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia, to evaluate the perception of clinical pairing. A thirteen-question survey was distributed to 148 dental students after they had experienced four-handed dentistry. The objectives were to identify the advantages, disadvantages, and the acceptance of the implementation of clinical pairing from the students' point of view. The responses from the open-ended questions were categorized into six main themes (areas of interest): quality-related (Q), patient-related (PT), partner-related (P), lecturer-related (T), infection control (IC), and learning environment (L). Data analysis was done using SPSS version 18. Results indicated that the students perceived they possessed enough knowledge regarding clinical pairing. However, it was found that they still preferred to work independently as compared to working in pairs. The benefits of clinical pairing may not be viewed in the same vein by both dental students and teachers. The quality-related theme was perceived by students as the main advantage of clinical pairing, whilst the partner-related theme was perceived otherwise. The study also revealed that students may have some preconceived notions about pairing that may have impaired their acceptance. As a consequence, some reluctance was seen in their responses

Clinical pairing revisited: a study at the University of Malaya, Malaysia

This study is part of ongoing educational research conducted by the Department of Conservative Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia, to evaluate the perception of clinical pairing. A thirteen-question survey was distributed to 148 dental students after they had experienced four-handed dentistry. The objectives were to identify the advantages, disadvantages, and the acceptance of the implementation of clinical pairing from the students' point of view. The responses from the open-ended questions were categorized into six main themes (areas of interest): quality-related (Q), patient-related (PT), partner-related (P), lecturer-related (T), infection control (IC), and learning environment (L). Data analysis was done using SPSS version 18. Results indicated that the students perceived they possessed enough knowledge regarding clinical pairing. However, it was found that they still preferred to work independently as compared to working in pairs. The benefits of clinical pairing may not be viewed in the same vein by both dental students and teachers. The quality-related theme was perceived by students as the main advantage of clinical pairing, whilst the partner-related theme was perceived otherwise. The study also revealed that students may have some preconceived notions about pairing that may have impaired their acceptance. As a consequence, some reluctance was seen in their responses