ABSTRACT
Rubber dam is considered as a standard of care for tooth isolation during dental procedures since long. Rubber dam offers utmost protection to both, the dentist and the patient. The aim of the study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of house officers in regard to placement and usage of rubber dam, identifying the problems encountered in its use. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted from August to September 2017 in seven dental hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Using the convenience sampling technique the questionnaire was distributed among the house officers of all the hospitals. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22.0.The overall response rate from all the seven hospitals was 71%. A total of 220 house officers participated in the study.90% of house officers believed that rubber dam improves vision during restorative or endodontic procedure, 83.2% thought that it improves access to the tooth, 96.8% knew that it improves isolation and 86.4% believed that the procedures performed under rubber dam are more successful in terms of their longevity and clinical standards.51.4% of the house officers used rubber dam in restorative and endodontic procedures sometimes while 45% did not use rubber dam and only 3.6% always used rubber dam in the endodontic and restorative procedures. The major causes of not using rubber dam in clinical practice by the house officers were extra time required for the rubber dam placement, difficult placement procedure and lack of adequate training. This study shows that greater emphasis should be placed on advantages of using rubber dam in clinical dentistry and continuing education for updating knowledge about rubber dam is required
ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of dental caries and associated risk factors among patients examined at College of Dentistry, Aljouf University, Saudi Arabia. The study group consisted of 576 subjects with a mean age of 30.4 +/- 9.9 years and 65% males. Carious defects, fillings and missing teeth due to caries were diagnosed and DMFT scores were calculated according to WHO guidelines. Oral hygiene practices and habits were also recorded. Data were collected through a proforma. The prevalence rate of dental caries in the study group was 94%. The mean DMFT was 6.58 +/- 3.7 whereby the D [Decayed] component had the highest proportion 4.44 +/- 3.1, and M [Missing] component the lowest 0.79 +/- 1.6. On average the F [Filled] component was 1.39 +/- 1.9. The mean of DMFT component by gender was statistically significant [p < 0.05] while the difference in the mean of D and F components by age group was statistically insignificant [p < 0.05]. The molars [69%] were the most affected teeth by caries followed by premolars [21.5%] and anterior teeth [9.5%]. The results indicated high levels of dental caries as well as dental treatment needs among the study participants
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to compare quality of thermafil obturation technique with cold Lateral Condensation technique in the management of root canal therapy. In this quasi experimental study, a total of 60 patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were selected. They were randomly allocated to two groups, Group A and Group B, each comprising of 30patients. In both groups chemo-mechanical preparation was done in first visit and in the second visit group A was obturated by thermafil technique and group B was obturated by cold lateral condensation technique. Post-operative evaluations of patients were based on peri-apical radiograph. Teeth obturated with Thermafil showed fewer voids and more radiodensity. Hence in terms of quality, obturation by thermafil technique was considered better