[Attitudes towards oral health behavior among students of dental schools in Tehran]

Effectiveness of oral health promotion programs requires presence of knowledgeable and prevention-oriented dental workforce. The aim of the present study was to investigate attitudes of dental students and its determinants in Tehran towards prevention based on Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory [HU-DBI] questionnaire. A Farsi version of HU-DBI questionnaire was prepared, validated and administered to the pre-clinical and clinical students of three dental schools located in Tehran. Chi-square test and logistic regression model served for statistical analysis. In this cross-sectional study, two-hundred students participated. Women were less likely to agree with the statements "I have noticed some white sticky deposits on my teeth", and "I think I can clean my teeth well without using toothpaste" [P=0.04 and P=0.06, respectively], and more likely to agree with "I think that I cannot help having false teeth when I am old" compared to men [P=0.015]. Differences related to the students' schools also existed in the students' reactions to the items "I have used a dye to see how clean my teeth are" and "I use a toothbrush which has hard bristles". Differences related to the students' study year were also found in their attitudes towards prevention. Dental students' prevention-oriented attitudes seem to be associated with their gender and study year. More emphasis should be placed on prevention in Iranian dental curriculum to overcome those differences in the students' attitudes which are related to background and academic characteristics

[ efficacy of Iranan made saliva substitue vs. VA-OraLube in improvement of oral-health-related quality of life in radiotherapy-induced xerostomia]

Xerostomia is a common complication of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer which can increase the risk of oral and dental disease and negatively affect patients' quality of life. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Iranian Made Saliva Substitute vs. VA-OraLube in improvement of Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life. This study was a randomized double-blinded, crossover clinical trial. 27 patients [49.1 +/- 14.7 years] with post-radiotherapy xerostomia were randomly allocated to receive either Iranian Made Saliva Substitute or VA-OraLube, or vice versa, each product for 1 week, with a 10 day wash-out period in between. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Questionnaire Head and Neck Cancer Module [EORTC-QLQ-H and N 35] was completed by patients at days 1,8,18 and 25. To compare the groups the repeated measurement analysis of variance test was used then comparison of paired was performed by t-paired test. Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life score has been changed almost the same degree by both VA-OraLube and Iranian made saliva substitute and both treatments were effective. But none of them affected pain relief. A trend was seen for VA-OraLube to improve senses. With regard to significant improvement in Standard score in different group of questionnaire after using saliva substitute, both saliva substitutes were effective in alleviating the symptoms of xerostomia and helping patients to have better life