Should surgical burs be used as single-use devices to avoid cross infection? a case-control study

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the rate of bacterial contamination of reused and new unused burs after different sterilization sessions

Materials and Methods: The test group consisted of 40 used fissure burs, and the control group of 40 unused new fissure burs [total n = 80]. The burs from both groups were precleaned according to standard protocols and then subjected to two sterilization sessions [high- and low-steam pressure autoclaving]. After each sterilization session, the burs were transferred into incubation tubes which contained thioglycollate culture medium and were monitored daily for a period of 48 h to detect any bacterial growth. Data were collected and statistical analysis was done using Fisher's exact test

Results: Of the 40 burs of the test group, 2 burs [5%] showed positive bacterial growth, whereas no bur from the control group showed any sign of bacterial growth after high-pressure autoclaving. The colony structure and Gram staining were compatible with the growth of Staphylococcus epidermis . After a second sterilization session at low-pressure steam autoclaving, no bacterial growth was observed for the test group, but 1 bur [2.5%] from the control group showed bacterial growth and Gram-positive staining matched well with the growth of Brevibacterium species

Conclusions: The new and unused burs were 100% sterile after high-pressure steam autoclaving, whereas 5% of the reused burs appeared positive with bacterial contamination. After low-pressure steam autoclaving, reused burs were 100% sterile, but 1 new bur demonstrated bacterial contamination

Assessment of dental students' psychomotor skills using oral surgery simulation models

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the validity of using oral surgery simulation models as a tool to assess the psychomotor skills of dental students

Materials and Methods: All students in the 4th year of a 6 years dental program were enrolled in the study. 23 dental students were asked to display their competency in the injection of local anesthesia and dental extraction in two summative testing environments namely; in the simulation and in the outpatient clinic. A panel of four experts assessed the students' performance during the injection of local anesthesia and tooth extraction on patients and simulation using a pre-validated checklist. Students' scores were compared in both settings

Results: The results showed no significant correlation between the scores on patients and simulation in the two settings [P = 0.759]

Conclusions: The study revealed that the real patient remains the gold standard in summative assessment of dental students' psychomotor skills

Self-reported anxiety of dental procedures among dental students and its relation to gender and level of education

Objectives: The study aimed to identify the dental procedures that elicit the highest level of anxiety by various dental procedures and to determine the correlation of anxiety with students' gender and varying perceptions of anxiety across years of dental education

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar, Pakistan during June 2014. The Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale [DAS] was distributed to all students. This instrument had 26 items examining the anxiety levels experienced for different dental procedures. Options ranging from 1 to 4 were provided for every item, where 1 represented low anxiety and 4 represented the highest anxiety

Results: The overall response rate was 67.3% [n = 101; 64 females and 37 males]. Among the top five dental procedures eliciting the highest anxiety levels, females were found to be more anxious than males for all procedures [fear of injection/needle, root canal treatment, extraction, and application of cold air] except the need for further treatment. Pre-clinical students [1[st] and 2[nd] year] were found to be more anxious than clinical students [3[rd] and 4[th] year]. Significant differences [p < 0.05] were found for three procedures: rubber dam placement, inability to stop dentist, and impression taking. Clinical students reported high anxiety for the latter, and pre-clinical students reported higher anxiety for the former two procedures

Conclusions: Higher anxiety levels were reported by females and pre-clinical students than their respective counterparts. Educational sessions and graded exposure therapy at an initial stage of dental educational training may decrease the anxiety associated with dental procedures

Students' perspectives on the relevance of internet-based educational videos in dental education

This cross-sectional study sought to obtain the perceptions of third year students of the University of Dammam faculty of dentistry about the usefulness of Internet-based educational videos in assisting oral biology lectures. The study was conducted at the College of Dentistry, University of Dammam during March 2014. A validated questionnaire containing 10 questions was distributed to all of the participants. The first eight questions, related to the usefulness of videos during lectures, required dichotomized [agree/disagree] responses. For the last two questions [number of videos to be added and the time period allocated to these videos in each lecture], multiple options were provided for selection. The data were analysed statistically by using the chisquare test. The sample size was 70 students [39 male and 31 female], with an overall response rate of 97%. The majority of students positively perceived the role of videos in assisting lectures. However, significant differences [p < 0.05] were found between male and female students regarding their understanding of lectures with/without videos and retention of knowledge gained from lectures with videos. Videos should be included in the lectures, so long as any video included is analogous to the desired learning outcomes of the lecture