ABSTRACT
Statement of the Problem: Reduced bone mineral density [BMD] generally affects postmenopausal women and it is classified into moderate [osteopenia] and signifi-cant osteoporosis. Based on digital panoramic radiographs [DPRs], several quantita-tive and qualitative assessment methods have been proposed for the diagnosis and evaluation of bone changes and as a predictor of BMD
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare mandibular cortical width [MCW] and mandibular cortical index [MCI] derived from DPRs in evaluating the BMD in osteopenic and osteoporotic post-menopausal women
Materials and Method: In this cross-sectional study, the BMD assessment was performed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [DEXA]. Then, patients were divided into two groups: osteopenia and osteoporosis based on WHO criteria. Two types of T-scores including TT [trabecular] for lumbar spine, TC [cortical] for femo-ral neck and finally, MCW and MCI were measured based on DPRs
Results: Fifty females with the average age of 57.64 +/- 6.03 years were entered into the study. MCW significantly correlated with BMD [p< 0.05]. Pearson correlation coefficient test revealed that there was almost significant relationship between MCI and BMD [p= 0.079]. The area under the curve [AUC] in ROC suggested that there was a close overlap between MCW [0.773] and TC [0.783], but TT had the greatest AUC [0.996]
Conclusion: The results showed that MCW is an appropriate index of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. Although the prediction of osteoporosis is poorer at the femoral neck than lumbar spine, MCW can serve as a screening tool for osteoporosis in this area
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Oral cancer is a global health problem; however, many dentists lack the necessary skills, knowledge and capacity to diagnose oral cancers early. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of a Persian short-form version of a standardised questionnaire to assess dentists' knowledge, practice and attitudes towards oral cancer
Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in May 2015 in Tehran, Iran. An original 39-item English-language questionnaire developed by Yellowitz et al. was translated into Persian using forward and backward translation methods. A total of 15 dental professionals were asked to assess the questionnaire for content validity. Based on their feedback, a 20-item short-form version was prepared, including six demographic, six knowledge, four attitude and four practice items. The translated short-form questionnaire was subsequently distributed to 973 general dental practitioners attending a dental conference in Tehran. Internal consistency and reliability were assessed with Cronbach's alpha coefficient and item-total correlation calculations
Results: A total of 13 professionals and 313 general dentists participated in the study [response rates: 86.7% and 32.2%, respectively]. After the elimination of six items [two knowledge, two attitude and two practice items], the validity and reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed
Conclusion: The final Persian 14-item version of the questionnaire had acceptable validity and internal consistency. These results indicate that researchers can use this translated short-form version to evaluate oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and practices among Persian-speaking dentists; this will allow for a comparison of data between different populations
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and use of evidence-based dentistry [EBD] among Iranian dentists. A cross-sectional survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire among dentists attending the 52[nd] National Annual Congress of the Iranian Dental Association in Tehran in April 2012. The questions covered the participants' level of knowledge and use of EBD. The mean knowledge score of the 310 respondents was 3.66 +/- +/- 1.19 out of a maximum of 5. The majority of the dentists had little [56.1%] or no [20.7%] knowledge of EBD. The main reported barrier to the use of EBD was lack of time [44.1% of respondents] with 42.8% of dentists using the Internet less than one hour per week. EBD was not a familiar concept to these Iranian dentists; the majority of them preferred consultation with colleagues over seeking evidence from electronic databases
ABSTRACT
Ethical consideration is a basic requirement for design of randomized clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to assess whether reports of Iranian dental clinical trials complied with the requirements of the ethical principles of human research. In this retrospective observational study electronic search was performed to identify all dental clinical trials published between 2001 and 2011. Each trial report was assessed for inclusion of a statement that 17 items about research ethics. Totally 242 papers were identified, of which 15.3%, stated that ethical approval had been obtained and 50.4% of the trial reports indicated that informed consent had been obtained. The mean ethical score for the mentioned studies was 7/68 out of 17. Most Iranian dental clinical trial reports failed to consider important ethical principles. The reporting of the ethical issues associated with these trials could be improved further not only by the instructions to authors, but also by Journal editors refusing to publish trials that do not comply
ABSTRACT
There is scant information regarding the multifactorial aetiology of denture stomatitis [DS] in the world and, despite its frequency, associated factors are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors that may be associated with this lesion. A total of 70 edentulous patients, all wearing removable dentures, were divided into two groups. The test group comprised 43 patients with DS and the control group comprised 27 subjects with clinically healthy palatal mucosa. A thorough history-taking and physical examination were carried out; the subjects also answered a questionnaire. The serum level of vitamin A for each subject was assayed from a blood sample taken after the examination. This study showed a significant relationship between the incidence of DS and three major factors: denture age [in terms of years], the practitioner manufacturing the dentures [general dental practitioner versus dental hygienist], and the nightlong wearing of dentures. Also, the vitamin A serum level was low in 94.29% of all subjects [cases and controls]. Although many predisposing conditions were related to this situation, the most important risk factor was the continuous use of the dentures