Knowledge and Attitude of Undergraduate Students and Interns toward Stem Cells and Their Implications in Dentistry: A Cross-sectional Study.

AIM: The primary ideology of this research was to evaluate both the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate students and interns regarding stem cells and their use in dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional observatory study was conducted among 310 dental students of Jazan University by making use of a self-explanatory questionnaire, containing a set of 25 questions and was sent as e-mail through Google e-forms. RESULTS: There was a good response rate of around 81.2%, of which 80.16% were aware of the fact that stem cells are unspecialized types of cells that come with the potential to turn into any cell type. Almost 65.08% of the participants considered the possibility to continue root formation post-trauma as the fundamental use of stem cells, and a majority (71.43%) of the participants showed great interest in garnering more knowledge and training in the area of stem cells. About 50% of the participants showed strong opposition to the concept of embryonic stem cells as these are basically fetched from an aborted fetus or from an embryo. There was a major section of the participants (79.76%) who were even keen on organizing more programs to create public awareness regarding stem cells. Mean knowledge and attitude scores among the participants were reported to be 7.57 ± 3.10 and 36.04 ± 6.51 respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, the level of knowledge and attitude of dental students and interns at Jazan University towards stem cells and their implications in dentistry can be interpreted as adequate. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Advanced training and awareness campaigns on stem cells and dentistry would improve their knowledge and attitude.

Knowledge and Attitude of Undergraduate Students and Interns about Human Tooth Bank: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Human tooth banks (HTBs) are philanthropic institutions that assist to alleviate academic pressure by supplying human teeth essential for preclinical laboratory activities and experimental research. The primary focus of this research was to assess the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate students and interns who have taken up dentistry as their field of study in Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, about HTB. Materials and methods: An online structured self-explanatory questionnaire containing 16 questions was sent via email to the undergraduate students and interns. The Google e-forms questionnaire contained a consent attached for participating in this cross-sectional observational study. Results: A good response rate of 93.3% was recorded, but the results were surprising as 66.43% of the participants did not have the slightest idea regarding the concept of a tooth bank, while only a meager 17.4% of them supported the idea of getting the teeth preauthorized from HTBs before using it on patients. A majority (80.36%) of students unanimously promoted the idea of having facilities like HTBs, but only 15.36% of students had stored teeth at a teeth bank previously. Conclusion: There is an overwhelming lack of awareness among students regarding HTBs and the legal procedures involved in procuring teeth from them. It is necessary to do all that's required to create awareness about the perks of linking HTB with various dental institutions and the legal process involved to use human teeth. How to cite this article: Vishwanathaiah S, Eshaq RH, Maganur PC, et al. Knowledge and Attitude of Undergraduate Students and Interns about Human Tooth Bank: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(1):60-64.