Awareness, Knowledge and Attitude of Dental Students of Tehran and ShahidBeheshti Universities of Medical Sciences about Evidence-based Dentistry

Background and Aim : Evidence-based dentistry is an approach to oral health that requires a reasonable combination of scientific evidence with the dentists’ diagnostic and clinical practice as well as patients’ needs and treatment priorities. The aim of this study was evaluation of awareness, attitudes and self- assessed knowledge of dentistry students about EBD in governmental universities in Tehran.   Materials and Methods : Subjects included junior students of dentistry studying in Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities of Medical Sciences. Sixty-five subjects were evaluated, among which 85% answered the questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed to the students before and after their courses to evaluate student’s awareness, attitude and self- assessment knowledge. Chi- square and T- test were used to analyze the results.   Results : Totally 80% of students had a fair or poor awareness about EBD. Almost, all the students had a correct attitude about EBD and 80% had a correct attitude about the steps. The mean male student’s knowledge was significantly higher than that of female counterparts. Also, there was a significantly positive correlation between student’s knowledge score and self- assessed knowledge about EBD .    Conclusion : Despite good attitudes about EBD, there is a deficiency in student’s knowledge, so an appropriate plan is suggested to resolve this problem

Designing a tool to assess professionalism among dental students in clinical departments of dental school and its psychometric analysis

Objectives: Professionalism is essential to a strong trusted patient-doctor relationship, which is believed, could lead to more patient compliance and treatment outcomes. The purpose of our study was the development and psychometric analysis of an assessment tool for the professional behavior of dental students. Materials and Methods: The study was done in the School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. After providing a pool of various criteria to assess professionalism, an expert panel prepared the primary version of the tool. The tool was set in a questionnaire frame to explore the significance level and evaluation feasibility of each criterion. The questionnaire was completed by tutors of the “Medical Ethics” course (N=6). After necessary revisions, in order to evaluate face and content validity, the checklist was given to eight experienced dental educators to determine the relevance, clarity and simplicity of the questions. At the second stage, the final checklist with 37 items was given to dental educators to evaluate twenty students. To assess the reliability of this checklist, at least two professors evaluated each student and the weighted-  was calculated. Minor revisions were done according to feedbacks. Results: According to the obtained data, the total validity of the tool (S-CVI) was 100%. In all items, except just for one item, the weighted-  was greater than or equal to 0.5, showing sufficient reliability of these items. Conclusion: The designed tool to evaluate the professionalism among dental students in different clinical departments seems to be both valid and reliable

Naringenin Decreases Progression of Atherosclerosis by Improving Dyslipidemia in High-Fat-Fed Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Null Mice

OBJECTIVE: Naringenin is a citrus flavonoid that potently inhibits the assembly and secretion of apolipoprotein B100-containing lipoproteins in cultured hepatocytes and improves the dyslipidemia and insulin resistance in a mouse model of the metabolic syndrome. In the present study, we used low-density lipoprotein receptor-null mice fed a high-fat diet (Western, TD96125) to test the hypothesis that naringenin prevents atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three groups (chow, Western, and Western plus naringenin) were fed ad libitum for 6 months. The Western diet increased fasting plasma triglyceride (TG) (5-fold) and cholesterol (8-fold) levels compared with chow, whereas the addition of naringenin significantly decreased both lipids by 50%. The Western-fed mice developed extensive atherosclerosis in the aortic sinus because plaque area was increased by 10-fold compared with chow-fed animals. Quantitation of fat-soluble dye (Sudan IV)-stained aortas, prepared en face, revealed that Western-fed mice also had a 10-fold increase in plaque deposits throughout the arch and in the abdominal sections of the aorta, compared with chow. Atherosclerosis in both areas was significantly decreased by more than 70% in naringenin-treated mice. Consistent with quantitation of aortic lesions, the Western-fed mice had a significant 6-fold increase in cholesterol and a 4-fold increase in TG deposition in the aorta compared with chow-fed mice. Both were reduced more than 50% by naringenin. The Western diet induced extensive hepatic steatosis, with a 10-fold increase in both TG and cholesteryl ester mass compared with chow. The addition of naringenin decreased both liver TG and cholesteryl ester mass by 80%. The hyperinsulinemia and obesity that developed in Western-fed mice was normalized by naringenin to levels observed in chow-fed mice. CONCLUSIONS: These in vivo studies demonstrate that the citrus flavonoid naringenin ameliorates the dyslipidemia in Western-fed low-density lipoprotein receptor-null mice, leading to decreased atherosclerosis; and suggests a potential therapeutic strategy for the hyperlipidemia and increased risk of atherosclerosis associated with insulin resistance