Restorative treatment decisions regarding approximal and occlusal carious lesions among general dental practitioners in Palestine

Aim: To investigate restorative decisions made by dentists and to examine what demographic characteristics are associated with the decisions for managing approximal and occlusal lesions. Methods: A questionnaire was randomly sent to 900 Palestinian dentists. It noted the demographic details of the dentists and the years of experience. The questionnaire evaluated the respondents for their treatment decisions regarding approximal and occlusal carious lesions. The data was analyzed using the IBM SPSS statistics for windows. The associations between gender and years of experience of the respondents and their restorative decisions were assessed. Results: The response rate was 58.2%. For occlusal carious lesions, 93.9% of the respondents would postpone operative treatment until the lesion was in dentine (grade 3 to 5). For approximal lesions, intervention was deemed appropriate by 92.6% of the respondents when there was radiographic evidence of a carious lesion reaching the DEJ or deeper. Around 53% preferred to prepare approximal lesions according to the traditional principles of cavity preparation. For both approximal and occlusal lesions, the participants opted for resin composites. Statistically, there was a significant association between the restorative decisions with the years since graduation and gender. Conclusion: The study showed variations between the treatment decisions of Palestinian dentists. The subjects chose conservative treatment plans but still adhered to traditional learned practices especially when cavity preparation for approximal lesions was concerned. The years since graduation and gender played a significant role in the choice of treatment opted for. Resin composites seemed to be a popular choice for treatment

Supernumerary Teeth: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study from Palestine

Abstract Objective: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of supernumerary teeth among patients attending the students' dental clinics at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Arab American University, Jenin, Palestine. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study of 1970 digital panoramic radiographs of patients, age ranging between 12 and 50 years. The radiographs and dental records were reviewed for supernumerary teeth. For each patient with supernumerary teeth, were recorded the demographic variables, number, location, eruption status, type, and morphology, the developmental stages. Descriptive statistics were performed and results were tabulated. Results: Supernumerary teeth were detected in 17 subjects (0.86%), of which 13 were males and 4 were females with a male to female ratio of 3.25:1. Of the 17 patients, 64.7% had one supernumerary tooth while the others had two. The majority (78.3%) of the supernumeraries were located in the maxilla. Around 56.5% of the supernumeraries found in this study were located in the premaxilla. Half of the supernumeraries (52.2%) were erupted, and 47.8% were impacted. Mesiodens was the most frequently seen supernumerary teeth followed by distomolars and premolars. Most of the supernumeraries were fully developed, while 21.7% displayed only crown formation. Conclusion: The prevalence of supernumerary teeth in the study sample was found to be 0.86% and the most frequent type was mesiodens. Supplemental morphology was found to be the most common form of supernumerary teeth.