Oral hygiene practices in primary school children and their teachers in a peri-urban locality of Islamabad

The objective of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to assess the oral hygiene practices of primary school children in Bara Kahu, a peri-urban locality in the outskirts of Islamabad Capital Territory. From a list of 17 primary schools in the area, five schools were randomly selected using the dice roll method. With consent from school authorities and parents, a convenience sample of 384 children aged 4-10 years were selected from the five schools and, in the presence of a class teacher, oral hygiene practices were assessed via a questionnaire filled out by the investigator team members. Teachers were also included in the assessment. With analysis by SPSS version 20, the results showed that the oral hygiene practices of the children was below standard where one-third of the children did not brush their teeth at all, 66.1% brushed their teeth at least once daily and only 2.86% followed the recommended twice a day. Only 6.1% children had been to a dentist. Teachers also exhibited deficient oral hygiene practices with only 33.33% following the twice a day protocol. Use of miswak was popular. It is recommended that oral health education and awareness program, modified to include miswak as an additional oral hygiene tool, are essential for improve the standard of oral health practices by children from rural and peri-urban settings

survey on the use of information technology amongst dentists in Islamabad

To get a better understanding of the baseline computer skills of the target group, see how dental informatics is helping health professionals and how far behind Pakistan is from the rest of the world in this field. We use the term information technology or IT to refer to an entire industry. In actuality, information technology is the use of computers and software to manage information. In some companies, this is referred to as Management Information Services [MIS] or simply as Information Services [IS]. The term Dental informatics is defined as the application of computer and information sciences to improve dental practice, research, education and management. A questionnaire based survey was conducted consisting of 19 questions relating to dental informatics and randomly distributed amongst dentists of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Results showed that computer usage and access was only limited to storing patient information or email. Practice management systems were a very uncommon feature, in fact nonexistent in dental practices. Only a handful of the target group dentist had ever taken a computer course however the general attitude of young Pakistani dentists towards the adoption of dental informatics in their practice, institutes or hospitals was very positive. A lot of issues have to be addressed before an integrated system can be implemented in to every practice and hospital in our country. Dentists' attitudes are a decisive factor to implementing dental computerization for an ever growing need for advancement in dentistry. The government should try and implement a dental health information system country wide and train dentists in this field of dental education.

Digital imaging for an efficient orthodontic practice

In orthodontics the benefits of digital photography are certainly numerous. These include rapid image production, easy and quick deletion of poor images, no need for film, decreased costs for enlargement, ease of editing and image storage, effortless placement in presentations and publications. The quality of the image will be reflected in the number of dpi the camera can capture as well as the quality of optics used. The term computerized photography actually describes the blending of video and digital photography along with the processing of those images. The importance of photographs for clinical records cannot be over emphasized. Whatever the case digital imaging enhances orthodontist's communication with patients and professional colleagues while improving clinical results