Dental anxiety among university students and its correlation with their field of study

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the subjective ratings of dental anxiety levels among university students enrolled at Jordan University of Science and Technology. In addition, the present study aimed to explore the sources of dental anxiety and the impact of gender on the perceived dental anxiety and the correlation between field of study and dental anxiety level.Material and Methods: The Modified Corah Dental Anxiety Scale was used to measure dental anxiety among the study population. Six hundred subjects were recruited into the study from Jordanian undergraduate students from the faculties of Medicine, Engineering, and Dentistry. Results: Five hundred and thirty five complete questionnaires were returned, which accounts for a response rate of 89.2%. The totals of the mean anxiety scores were the following: Medical students, 13.58%; Engineering students, 13.27% and dental students, 11.22%. About 32% of the study population has scored 15 or more. Dental students had the lowest percentage of those who scored 15 or more. Surprisingly, the medical students were responsible for the highest percentage of those who scored 15or above. Although women demonstrated statistically higher total dental anxiety scores than men (p= 0.03), the difference between both genders was small and could be clinically insignificant. The students were anxious mostly about tooth drilling and local anesthetic injection. Conclusion: Lack of adequate dental health education may result in a high level of dental anxiety among nondentaluniversity students in Jordan. Further studies are required to identify the correlates of dental anxiety among university students.

Bone damage induced by different cutting instruments: an in vitro study

The aim of this study was to compare the peripheral bone damage induced by different cutting systems. Four devices were tested: Er:YAG laser (2.94 mm), Piezosurgery, high-speed drill and low-speed drill. Forty-five bone sections, divided into 9 groups according to different parameters, were taken from pig mandibles within 1 h post mortem. Specimens were fixed in 10 percent buffered formalin, decalcified and cut in thin sections. Four different parameters were analyzed: cut precision, depth of incision, peripheral carbonization and presence of bone fragments. For statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to assess equality of sample medians among groups. All sections obtained with the Er:YAG laser showed poor peripheral carbonization. The edges of the incisions were always well-shaped and regular, no melting was observed. Piezosurgery specimens revealed superficial incisions without thermal damage but with irregular edges. The sections obtained by traditional drilling showed poor peripheral carbonization, especially if obtained at lower speed. There was statistically significant differences (p<0.01) among the cutting systems for all analyzed parameters. Er:YAG laser, gave poor peripheral carbonization, and may be considered an effective method in oral bone biopsies and permits to obtain clear and readable tissue specimens.

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o dano ósseo periférico produzido por diversos sistemas de corte. Foram avaliados 4 dispositivos: laser Er:YAG (2,94 mm), Piezo-cirurgia, broca em alta rotação e broca em baixa rotação. Para isto, foram utilizadas 45 seções ósseas retiradas de mandíbulas de suínos, até 1 h post-mortem, divididas em 9 grupos de acordo com diversos parâmetros. As amostras foram fixadas em formalina a 10 por cento tamponada, descalcificadas e cortadas em lâminas finas. Foram analisados 4 parâmetros diferentes: a precisão do corte, a profundidade da incisão, a carbonização periférica e presença de fragmentos ósseos. A análise estatística empregou o teste de Kruskal-Wallis para avaliar a similaridade das medianas entre os grupos. Todas as seções feitas com o laser Er:YAG exibiram pouca carbonização. As margens das incisões foram todas bem acabadas e regulares, sem apresentar pontos de fusão. As amostras obtidas por piezo-cirurgia apresentaram incisões superficiais sem danos térmicos, mas com margens irregulares. As seções obtidas pelas brocas convencionais apresentaram pouca carbonização marginal, particularmente as feitas em baixa rotação. Foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significantes (p<0,01) entre todos os sistemas de corte para cada um dos parâmetros analisados. O laser Er:YAG apresentou pouca carbonização e pode ser considerado como um método eficaz para biópsias de ossos bucais, produzindo amostras de tecido limpas e fáceis de analisar.

Aquecimento da superfície radicular durante a criaçäo do espaço para pino / Heating of the root surface during post space preparation

No presente trabalho, determinou-se a temperatura externa da superfície radicular de dentes obturados com guta-percha e cimento, durante a remoçäo parcial da obturaçäo do canal radicular; quando do emprego de instrumentos aquecidos e rotatórios. Os resultados obtidos indicam que, com o uso do instrumento transportador de calor aquecido ao vermelho rubro, a temperatura observada na superfície externa das amostras é superior em relaçäo ao uso de instrumento rotatório e ao emprego do fio aquecido durante 5 segundos