The Level of Knowledge of Dental Profession Students of Universitas Airlangga on Leukoplakia as an Oral Potentially Malignant Disorder: An Observational Analytic Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Some oral cancers are preceded by oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), clinically and histologicallycharacterized byepithelial dysplasia. Leukoplakia is one of the OPMDs which clinically categorized into homogenous and nonhomogenous. Nonhomogeneous leukoplakia has a higher potential for malignant change. Therefore, dentists are required to recognize leukoplakia early during an oral (visual) examination, and this competency must be one of the requirements before graduation. Objective This study aimed to understand the level of knowledge of the dental undergraduate students about leukoplakia as an OPMD. Methods This research was an observational analytic study using a cross-sectional design. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey conducted using Google Forms. The total score was divided into high (9–12), medium (5–8), and low (0–4). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 using comparative analysis Mann–Whitney techniques test. Results A total of 180 dental profession students completed the questionnaire. Of these, 74 (41.40%) respondents were 22 years old, and 146 (81.10%) respondents were female. A high level of knowledge was achieved by 130 (72.20%) respondents, with each revealing 68 respondents from the 2019 batch and 62 from the 2018 batch, 49 (27.20%) respondents with a medium level of knowledge with 26 from the 2018 batch and 23 from the 2019 batch, and 1 respondent (0.60%) from the 2019 batch with a low level of knowledge. The results showed a p-value of 0.211

Malondialdehyde Level and Tissue Apoptosis Count as an Early-Detection Marker of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders

Objectives The malondialdehyde (MDA) level and TA count represent the progression of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) to malignancy and thus may be used as an indicator of oral epithelial dysplasia (OED). This study aimed to determine the MDA level and tissue apoptosis (TA) count in oropharyngeal tissue of Wistar rats exposed to sidestream cigarette smoke. Materials and Methods Wistar rats were divided into three groups: T4 group (4-week cigarette smoke exposure), T8 group (8-week cigarette smoke exposure), and control group, which was not exposed to cigarette smoke. The oropharyngeal tissue of the rats from each group was examined histopathologically to count the number of apoptotic cells, and then the blood serum was made to measure the MDA level. Statistical Analysis Bonferroni test was performed to see the differences in each group for MDA level. While the data from tissue apoptosis were analyzed using MannWhitney U test for the significance. All data were considered significant if p < 0.05. Results The MDA level and TA count increased as the duration of cigarette smoke exposure increased. In the T8 group, the MDA level and TA count were significantly higher compared with the T4 and control groups with a p-value < 0.05. Conclusions Exposure to sidestream cigarette smoke increased the TA count and MDA level in the oropharyngeal tissue of Wistar rats. The TA count and MDA level may be used as markers of OPMD