Awareness, knowledge and practice of evidence-based dentistry amongest dentists in Karachi

The purpose of this study was to determine the understanding, awareness and practice of Evidence Based Dentistry [EBD] amongst dentists working at dental colleges in Karachi. Total participants in this study were 200 who were randomly selected from different dental colleges in Karachi. Participants completed a pre-tested self administered questionnaire. 87% of the participants were graduates and were either trainees or had completed post-graduation. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 16. One-way ANOVA was applied. P- value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Only 23% of the participants reported that they always practiced Evidence based dentistry. Lack of training on EBD was considered as a barrier to Evidence Based Dentistry and the second most common cause reported was lack of access to resources. Majority of the participants 69% were not taught or trained earlier to practice Evidence Based Dentistry. Interestingly 87% of the participants showed their willingness to be trained for Evidence-Based Dentistry. With respect to barriers in EBD Education level [0.018] and field of specialty of dentist [0.014] were found to be statistically significant. Therefore more emphasis should be given in training students as well as faculty members in Evidence Based Dentistry. It should also be ensured that all possible resources for accessing current dental research should be provided in Dental colleges

Frequency of torus palatinus; a study done in a teaching hospital in Karachi

The objective of the study was to determine the frequency, size and shape of torus palatinus [TP] in a teaching hospital in Karachi. The study further investigated the relationship with age, sex and ethnicity in the study sample. A total of nine hundred and nine [909] subjects were included in the study. The presence or absence of TP was examined by clinical examination and study casts were made for its evaluation. SPSS version 15.0 was used for data analysis. Out of 909 subjects studied, 34[3.7%] had torus palatinus [TP]. The TP was present in 12 [35.3%] males and 22 [64.7%] females. TP was found to be more prevalent in fifth decade of life [23.5%] and was least recorded in the first decade of life [8.8%]. Most of the patients that is 16 [2.4%] showing TP belonged to Urdu speaking community. Out of 34 cases of TP, medium size and spindle shaped tori were more prevalent with a frequency of 15 [44.2%] and 18 [52.9%] respectively