ABSTRACT
Dental caries and the resulting pulpitis is a reality of modern day life style. Important determinant for dental caries progression may be socioeconomic status [SES], gender, race, oral hygiene and habits like tobacco consumption. An association of dental caries with SES is still questionable. The objectives this study are to access the prevalence of untreated dental caries using PUFA index among 12 to 14 years old school going children and to determine an association of PUFA index with the socio-economic status [SES] of parents. A cross sectional study of three months duration was conducted among 12 -14 years old school going children reporting at the Operative Dentistry department of Margalla institute of Health Sciences Rawalpindi. An assessment of teeth and adjacent soft tissues of 300 children was carried out with mouth mirror. PUFA score of the whole sample was 1.42. The "P" component formed the majority of PUFA score [80%]. Children with poor SES had a mean PUFA score of 1.32 while children with middle class SES had a mean PUFA score of 1.48. A statistically significant association was seen between SES and P component of PUFA [p
ABSTRACT
Work related musculoskeletal disorders [WMSDs] are one of the most common factors that not only decrease the quality of life but also compromise productivity of health care personnel. This cross sectional study was aimed at looking into the WMSDs affecting physicians, nurses and dentists. A study of two months duration was initiated at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Subjects included were divided into three groups medical doctors, dental professionals and nurses. A questionnaire was designed for collection of data from the respondents. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 14. Strenuous work position was reported by 38.9% participants and standing work posture 45.6% and only 22.2% reported interchanging their work posture. The most commonly reported WMSDs was lower back pain among all groups. The prevention and reduction of WMSDs among doctors, nurses and dentists should include their education in ergonomics and awareness regarding the importance of work-related risk factors
ABSTRACT
To determine the bilateral occurrence of dental caries in mandibular first molars of 15-20 year old adolescents. This cross sectional comparative study was conducted at Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi between October 2005- March 2006. Five hundred patients including 250 boys and 250 girls were examined for dental caries using visual and tactile inspection in conjunction with bitewing radiographs. A right-tail Z-test was used to test the bilaterality levels. The bilateral occurrence of dental caries in mandibular first molar was calculated to be 66%. There was no significant difference in the bilaterality of dental caries in boys and girls. The distribution of caries was similar on the right and left sides of the oral cavity. Bilateral occurrence of dental caries was high in mandibular first molars