ABSTRACT
STATEMENT OF THE PROBELM: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are frequent events during childhood, and emergency management of these injuries has positive outcomes. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of parents of school-aged children about dental trauma and to identify the effect of demographic variables such as age, gender, and education on their responses. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 300 parents of elementary school children were selected through cluster sampling from July 2012 to January 2013 in Yazd, Iran. A questionnaire was designed to collect the data on parents' knowledge about emergency management of dental trauma, and their demographic characteristics and previous experiences. Statistical analysis of data was performed by SPSS software version 11 using T-test and ANOVA. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: 296 out of 300 participants returned their questionnaires (mean age 33.8± QUOTE ± 5). The parents' knowledge about TDI managements was inadequate (average score = 7.03). According to T-test and ANOVA statistical tests, there was no significant relationship between knowledge and age (p= 0.155), gender of parents (p= 0.113), gender of children (p= 0.776), occupation (p= 0.112), and the information source (p= 0.160). The relationship between parents' knowledge and parental educational level was statistically significant (p= 0.010), and least significant difference (LSD) test showed that knowledge score of parents with Bachelor's degree or higher educational levels (7.83±4) was significantly more than other parents who were not educated (6.97±4), or had high school diploma (6.70±4). CONCLUSION: Majority of parents had little knowledge about TDI and emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth in children. Therefore, it seems that educational programs are necessary to improve parents' knowledge.
ABSTRACT
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: School is one of the places with the greatest prevalence of occurrence of traumatic dental injuries. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge levels and attitudes of elementary school teachers towards dental trauma and its management. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, 281 elementary school teachers were selected through cluster sampling to answer the prepared questionnaire. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed in SPSS software by using ANOVA test and t-test. p Value<0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: The total knowledge and attitude were low and normal, respectively. No previous exposure to or close observation of a dental trauma was reported by 61.2% of teachers; while, 12.5% were trained on dental traumas first aid management. There was statistically significant relationship between the teacher's knowledge and previous first aids training. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of schoolteachers on emergency management of dental trauma is poor. Therefore, it seems to be helpful to consider the management of dental injuries especially avulsed teeth as a part of teachers' education.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Given the fact that bruxism is a prevalent oral habit among children and a potential destructor of oral tissues, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between intestinal parasitic infections and bruxism among kindergarten children. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered among parents of kindergarten children in Isfahan to select 50 children identified by their parents to have the habit of bruxism and 50 without the habit as control group. Informed consent was obtained prior to the investigation. Parents were delivered sampling instruments with proper instructions to collect stool samples from both groups for parasitological tests. The diagnostic parasitological tests involved the direct stool smear, formol-ether concentration, and Scotch tape tests. Comparison for the frequency distribution of intestinal parasitic infections between the two groups was performed using the chi-square test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Parasitic infections were observed in 19 (11/50 cases and 8/50 controls) children. A statistically significant relationship was observed between infection with pathogenic parasites and bruxism (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that pathogenic parasites may serve as the cause of initiation of bruxism habits among children.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common chronic inflammatory mucocutaneous disease. Clinical diagnosis of OLP requires clinical work-up and histologic examination to rule out possible dysplasia and carcinoma. It is possible that oral mucosal viral infections including HPV infection may have a causative role in OLP pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine the coincidence of human papilloma virus type 18 and oral lichen planus. METHODS: This study was a case-control study. Twenty nine paraffinized specimens of previously diagnosed oral lichen planus and 14 paraffinized specimens of nonpathogenic mucosa were studied. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) analyze used for detection of DNA HPV 18. The data were analyzed with SPSS software and Fisher's exact test was used to find the possible relation between HPV18 infection and oral lichen planus. RESULTS: Nine out of 29 (31.0%) lichen planus samples and one out of 14 (7.1%) controls were HPV 18 positive. No significant correlation (P = 0.128) was observed between HPV18 infection and oral lichen planus. CONCLUSION: According to the findings there might be a co-incidence of human papilloma virus type 18 and oral lichen planus.
