ABSTRACT
Objective: Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. After pit and fissures, enamel of proximal surface is the second region prone to rot. Bitewing images are one of the most important diagnostic tools for the detection of caries. Given the importance of accurate and timely detection of decay, the current study was aimed to evaluate the ability and skill of the final year dental students to identify the presence and depth of proximal caries in dental bitewing radiography
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study 208 inter proximal surfaces among the 13 dental bitewing radiographs were selected randomly. The radiographs were evaluated by two experienced dental specialists [a radiologist and a restorative specialist] to detect inter proximal decay between teeth. These diagnoses were considered as the gold standard. The radiographs were further assessed by fourteen final-year dental students. Finally, the collected data were analyzed by SPSS-17 software using Kappa coefficient of agreement and ICC. The sensitivity and specificity values were also determined
Results: The value of Kappa correlation coefficient to assess the similarity between students' responses and gold standards was obtained as 0.28 [p<0.001]. The Kappa correlation coefficient for evaluation of the precision of the data was 0.71. The sensitivity in the whole population was 0.43, while the specificity was 0.84
Conclusion: According to the results obtained in this study, the performance of final year dental students to identify the presence and depth of proximal caries from bitewing radiographs was not satisfactory. Moreover, the ability to detect normal surfaces was unacceptable
ABSTRACT
Background: oral candidiasis is a common opportunistic infection in diabetic patients. Presence of denture in the oral cavity of diabetic patients can promote Candida colonization and results in the higher incidence of oral and systemic candidiasis. The general purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare Candida colonization in denture of diabetic patients and non-diabetic control group
Methods: in current case-control study, samples for mycological examinations were collected from the palatal impression surface of maxillary dentures from 92 edentulous patients including 46 diabetic and 46 non-diabetic denture wearers. All samples were cultured directly on sabouraud agar medium and isolated colonies were counted and identified based on specific tests. Data were statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation tests
Results: the higher density of isolated colonies was seen in diabetic group in compare with control group [P = 0.0001]. There was a statistically significant correlation between the blood glucose level [P = 0.0001] and the duration of denture usage [P = 0.022] with the colonization of Candida on denture of diabetic patients. C. albicans was the most common isolated Candida species in both groups, though diabetic patients with dentures had more non-albicans Candida isolated from their dentures compared to non-diabetic patients
Conclusions: mycological findings from the present study revealed that diabetes mellitus can increase colonization of Candida in denture and mouth. By elimination of local and systemic factors in diabetic patients and improving their oral health care, Candida colonization and the risk of oral and systemic candidiasis will be decreased