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ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the attractiveness, acceptability, visibility and willingness-to-pay for clear aligner therapy (CAT) systems in first-year and final-year dental students and instructors. Methods: A questionnaire designed to collect information regarding esthetic preferences and intentions related to seven CAT systems was handed out to 120 undergraduate students and instructors at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA). Proportional odds models and population average generalized estimating equation models were used to examine potential association between participant characteristics, esthetic perceptions and CAT systems. Results: Overall, the examined CAT systems received favorable esthetic ratings. Expertise status was significantly associated with willingness-to-pay additionally for CAT, compared to fixed orthodontic appliances. There was no association between sex, previous orthodontic treatment history, satisfaction with own dental appearance and potential interest in treatment and aligner visibility and willingness-to-pay. CAT system was significantly associated with the perceived aligner visibility, acceptability and attractiveness by students and instructors. Conclusions: CAT systems were considered to a great extent attractive and acceptable for future treatment by dental school instructors and students. Willingness-to-pay for CAT systems was significantly associated with expertise status, with instructors appearing more reluctant to pay for CAT.
RESUMO Objetivo: Comparar diferentes sistemas de tratamento com alinhadores transparentes (CAT), quanto à atratividade, aceitabilidade, visibilidade e disposição a pagar, por parte de alunos (primeiro e último anos) e instrutores de Odontologia. Métodos: Um questionário elaborado para coletar informações sobre preferências e intenções estéticas, em relação a sete sistemas CAT, foi distribuído para 120 alunos de graduação e instrutores do Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA). Modelos de riscos proporcionais e modelos de equação de estimação generalizada para a média da população foram usados para examinar a possível associação entre as características dos participantes, percepções estéticas e os sistemas CAT. Resultados: No geral, os sistemas CAT examinados receberam avaliações estéticas favoráveis. O nível de experiência foi significativamente associado com a disposição em pagar mais por sistemas CAT do que por aparelhos ortodônticos fixos. Não houve associação entre sexo, histórico de tratamento ortodôntico anterior, satisfação com a própria aparência dentária, potencial interesse em tratamento, visibilidade do alinhador e disposição em pagar mais. Os sistemas CAT foram significativamente associados à visibilidade percebida, aceitabilidade e atratividade dos alinhadores por alunos e instrutores. Conclusões: Os sistemas CAT foram considerados, em grande parte, atraentes e aceitáveis para tratamentos futuros pelos instrutores e alunos do curso de Odontologia. A disposição em pagar mais pelos sistemas CAT foi significativamente associada ao nível de especialização, com os instrutores parecendo mais relutantes em pagar mais pelo CAT.
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Across the globe, there have been reports which have shown that all the dental professionals and the field of dentistry to be more vulnerable to the coronavirus infection. Dentists in general are comparatively more prone to infections as they are more exposed to aerosols and droplets emerging out of the patient’s oral cavity. This scare of coronavirus has unmasked the crevices in the integration of the dental health care professionals in to the public health care sector of various countries. It has significantly sidelined the dental treatment approach towards the patients and for the dental team as well. At this point, it is very difficult to project and calculate the exact number of cases of Covid-19 carriers or infected who are being treated by dentists. Such a preliminary survey will give us an idea about the precautionary measures that can be taken or being taken in dental practice. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice amongst dental professionals of different specialties about the Covid-19 and precautionary measures at different levels. METHODSAn online questionnaire based survey was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice amongst the dental professionals of different specialties about recent Covid 19 pandemic all over the world. A total of 250 participants were sent a survey questionnaire via Google Survey form. The responses were accepted in a 2 week time frame. The survey majorly focused on the clinical practice awareness and precautions taken by the dental professionals at their university / institute / college / private clinics while treating their patients based on which their knowledge and awareness were assessed. Demographic characteristics of study participants and their knowledge, awareness and practice related to Covid-19 were presented using descriptive statistics (mean and frequency distribution). RESULTSTwo hundred and forty-four (97.6 %) out of 250 participants surveyed responded to the questionnaire. Overall awareness amongst dental professionals was seen to be adequate with maximum correct responses received from the Teaching faculty of different institutes. Regarding the precaution level taken at the respective Institute / College / University the average score calculated on the base of responses was 6.92. CONCLUSIONSThe survey concluded that there is a dire need for regular educational interventions regarding the spread of the diseases and infection control at definite intervals. All dental professionals must be well aware of the protection kits available and their appropriate use during patient diagnosis and treatment planning
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Introduction Dental erosion is defined as a non-carious lesionhaving superficial tooth loss initiated by a chemical processeither intrinsic or extrinsic, without involvement of bacteria.The incentive of this study was to assess and compare dentalerosion associated with the intake of carbonated drinks amongdental students; day scholars and hostel residents of theUniversity College of dentistry, Lahore.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive studywas carried out on 183 dental students. Dental erosion wasestimated using the index of Basic Erosive Wear Examination(BEWE).Results: 31.6% hostel residents and 11.2% day scholarsconsumed carbonated drinks multiple times daily. Highererosion index values were seen in hostel residents than dayscholars. 48.6% was the prevalence of dental erosion amongthe study participants.Conclusion: Hostel residents consume more carbonateddrinks than day scholars. Erosion of teeth by carbonated drinksis influenced by the frequency, quantity, type, carbonateddrinks temperature and persons drinking habits.
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Objective: To assess knowledge, practices, and opinion related to oral cancer among medical and dental practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 550 Self-administered questioners were at various private and government hospitals/polyclinics in and around Riyadh. A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit the participants for the study, as it was challenging to obtain the updated lists of practitioners from all government and private medical and dental facilities. Dental practitioners, including general and speciaslist dentists and medical practitioners, including general and specialist medical practitioners, who are generally not involved in the examination of the oral cavity, were excluded from the study. Results: Among the 550 participants who met the inclusion criteria, 68.9% were males, while the other 31.1% were females. The mean knowledge score related to oral cancer was 9.5 for medical, and 9.7 for dental practitioners, however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.392). ANOVA test was applied to evaluate the differences in the mean scores between medical specialists, dental specialists, general medical practitioners (medical GP), and general dentists (dental GP). The mean score for all sub-groups was less than 15; among them, dental specialists had the highest mean score (10.2), followed by medical GP (9.9), dental GP (9.4), and medical specialist (9.2). Nevertheless, the difference between them was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: This research highlights the need to increase knowledge and awareness about oral cancer among practitioners.
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Introduction: Radiation hazards are harmful, and it becomes precarious when there is a professional negligence or ignorance. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and perception among dental students and dental practitioners toward dental radiation and to assess the difference in knowledge between dentists, dental staff and dental students. Materials and methods: The study was comprised of 550 participants. The information was collected from each participant through structured questionnaire consisting of 39 close-ended questions. Statistical analysis: Chisquare to test the association of knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) with gender, occupational sector and educational qualification and one way analysis of variance to compare the difference in means of KAP between the three different groups of professionals and gender. Results: Out of the 550 dental professionals who participated in the study, 293 (53%) were dental students, 83 (15%) were dental staff and 174 (32%) were dentists. Dental students showed higher KAP values towards radiation hazards protection followed by dentists and dental staff. Conclusion: From the results obtained in this study, it was noted that the KAP level with regard to radiation protection was higher among dental students compared to dentists, and the least KAP value was found with dental staff.
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Considerable effort has been made to address the issue of occupational health and environmental exposure to mercury. This review reports on the current literature of mercury exposure and health impacts on dental personnel. Citations were searched using four comprehensive electronic databases for articles published between 2002 and 2015. All original articles that evaluated an association between the use of dental amalgam and occupational mercury exposure in dental personnel were included. Fifteen publications from nine different countries met the selection criteria. The design and quality of the studies showed significant variation, particularly in the choice of biomarkers as an indicator of mercury exposure. In several countries, dental personnel had higher mercury levels in biological fluids and tissues than in control groups; some work practices increased mercury exposure but the exposure levels remained below recommended guidelines. Dental personnel reported more health conditions, often involving the central nervous system, than the control groups. Clinical symptoms reported by dental professionals may be associated with low-level, long-term exposure to occupational mercury, but may also be due to the effects of aging, occupational overuse, and stress. It is important that dental personnel, researchers, and educators continue to encourage and monitor good work practices by dental professionals.
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Humans , Aging , Biomarkers , Central Nervous System , Dental Amalgam , Environmental Exposure , Occupational Diseases , Occupational Health , Patient Selection , Research PersonnelABSTRACT
Aim: To assess the attitude and practice of dental professionals towards using of advance Radiographic technique. Material and Methods: It is a descriptive Cross-sectional Questionnaire study. Sample size was 375 dental professionals including BDS, MDS and post graduate students who were present at the time of study and given their informed consent were included in study. The study was conducted in Tatya Saheb Kore Dental College and Research Center New Pargaon, Distt. Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Results: 141 (38%) of study participants strongly supports use of advance radiographic technique for the diagnosis of Dental diseases, while only 19 (5%) strongly disagrees55% of study participants thinks that mock drills for the demonstration of usage of advance radiographic technique in dentistry is very much needed. Majority of dental professional {202(54%)} were using both Conventional Radiographic technique and Advance Radiographic technique in combination. Conclusions: Attitude of Dental professionals towards advance radiographic technique is positive. Need of the hour is to increase the practice of advance radiographic technique for the better understanding of this area.
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Ebola virus (EBOV) is the causative agent of lethal viral hemorrhagic fever. Since 1970, it has been found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, a current epidemic of 2014-2015, in West Africa, is caused by Zaire species of EBOV. This EBOV belongs to Filoviridae family. Term Filoviridae is derived from Latin word “Filum” meaning thread like based on its filamentous structure. Transmission of this virus can occur through various modes such as person to person, through animals and other routes. Person to person transmission occurs through direct contact with blood, body fluids, or skin of patients. Till date, there has been no reported case of transmission of the virus through saliva. However, some studies have confirmed the fact that all cases with detectable serum level of EBOV ribonucleic acid also show their level in saliva and also considering the fact that incubation period for all bodily fluids including saliva is 21 days. Thus, dental professionals are at risk of acquiring infection if infection control measures are not used. Hence, oral health care professionals should have a thorough knowledge about the oral manifestations of the disease to prevent life-threatening complications.
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BACKGROUND: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of ergonomics among dental professionals of Hubli-Dharwad twin cities, India. METHODS: Investigator-developed, self-administered, closed-ended questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding ergonomics during dental practice was filled in by undergraduates, house surgeons, postgraduates, and faculty members of dental institutions and private practitioners from Hubli-Dharwad twin cities. RESULTS: Data were collected from a total of 250 participants, 50 belonging to each academic group. Overall mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 52%, 75%, and 55%, respectively. Significant correlation was found for age with attitude (chi2 = 10.734, p = 0.030) and behavior (chi2 = 12.984, p = 0.011). Marital status was significantly associated with all the three domains; knowledge (chi2 = 29.369, p = 0.000), attitude (chi2 = 29.023, p = 0.000), and practices (chi2 = 13.648, p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Participants had considerable awareness and behavior toward ergonomics in dental practice. The high attitude score indicates stronger acceptance of ergonomics principles and guidelines during routine dental procedures. The current study highlights the situation of ergonomics in dental practice in the form of knowledge, attitude, and practices.