Knowledge and Practice of Immediate Dentures among the Dentists in Private Clinics in Khartoum State: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess the awareness and practice of Immediate Dentures among the dentists who work in the private clinics in Khartoum state, Sudan Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among the dental medical officers, registrars, specialists, and consultants who are working in private clinics and centers in Khartoum state and registered the private medical institutions in Sudan. The sample population was 664, using the stratified sampling technique and simple randomization within the stratum, 265 dentists were asked to participate in the study voluntarily A self-administered questionnaire consisted of 32 closed questions and 3 sections, section (1) involved the participant's data, section (2) contained the participant's knowledge, and section (3) the participant's practice was distributed. The participant's knowledge and practice scores were calculated as percentages achieved by dividing the number of accurate answers of the participants by the total number of questions and categorized as Good (66.6-100%), Average (33.3-66.6%), and Poor (less than 33.3%) Data was collected and analyzed using a statistical package of Social Science (SPSS) computer software version 22. Chi-square was used for statistical analysis Results: The response rate was 100%, with nearly equal distribution between males (135, 50.9%) and females (130, 49.1%). The age range is 24-39 years, with a mean of 31.65 ± 7.52 years. The majority of the participants (172, 64.9%) were freshly graduated and young practitioners, with the majority of them having experience ranging from 1 to 6 years. The result of the study revealed that 65.7% of the respondents have average knowledge about immediate denture while 8.7% expressed poor knowledge and only 25.7% had excellent knowledge On the other hand, the majority of the participants (200,75.5%) have never constructed an immediate denture, while only 21.1% have a history of constructing 1-5 immediate dentures, 3% constructed more than 5-10 immediate dentures and only 0.4% constructed more than 10 immediate dentures The lack of knowledge and experience was the main barrier preventing the use of immediate dentures, and the mainstream of the participants (118, 44.5%), evaluated their knowledge about the immediate denture as poor Using the Chi-square test, the correlation between the participants' knowledge and their gender, years of experience, and qualification was found not significant (p -values of 0.46, 027, and 0.66, respectively) while a significant correlation was found between the participants' self-evaluation of their knowledge and their knowledge score with a p-value of 0.000* Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the dental practitioners have average knowledge about the immediate denture, but the practice of the immediate denture is still very limited and requires enhancement Clinical significance: Immediate dentures have a significant role in maintaining the patient's esthetics, phonetics, masticatory efficiency, self-esteem, and quality of life. Hence, the knowledge and practice of the different dentists about the immediate denture are of great importance to improve the standard of care provided for the patient Keywords: Dentists, Immediate denture, Knowledge, Practice.

Perception of orofacial appearance among laypersons with diverse social and demographic status.

BACKGROUND: The perception of dentofacial esthetics differs considerably between patients and dentists. Patient's expectations regarding his/her esthetics are important and should be assessed ahead of any planning of esthetic treatment. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in perception of orofacial appearance by laypersons with different social and demographic status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 subjects. The questionnaire comprised three parts; the first part addressed the demographic variables. The second part queried about dental prosthesis, orthognathic or plastic surgery, and/or ongoing or previous orthodontic treatment. The third part included the Arabic version of the-8-item Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-Ar) whose responses were scored in the 5-point Likert scale. These scores were compared by different grouping factors (age, gender, marital status, and education) using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Willis tests with 95% confidence interval (α > 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 268 questionnaires were eligible for analysis, representing 67% response rate. The satisfaction with facial profile appearance was the highest (4.0±1.1) followed by facial appearance (3.9±1.1), while the color of teeth was the least satisfying item (3.1±1.3). No significant differences were found between age groups for the mean summary score as well as for each item independently. No significant difference was found between both sexes except for the last item "overall impression". Married subjects rated one item (alignment of teeth) better than their counterparts. Positive perception of orofacial appearance increased significantly with the increase of education level, the perception of the oral health status, and the perception of the general health status. CONCLUSION: Good oral health and/or high education level are significant determinants of more positive perception of orofacial esthetic appearance. Patients with these characteristics might be more concerned about their orofacial appearance, and this should be taken into consideration before planning any esthetic restorative dental treatment.

Happiness among dentists: a multi-scale, multi-national study from 21 countries.

OBJECTIVES: The extent to which dentists are happy with their profession and their life has not been well studied. The present study aimed to explore the level of happiness, satisfaction with life and psychological well-being among a sample of dental professionals from 21 countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised 2,200 dentists from 21 countries. Three scales - Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) - were used to measure the subjective responses. Data related to demographic and social characteristics were recorded. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Scales were correlated, and multiple linear regression analyses were employed to identify the independent determinants of SHS, SWLS and ABS. Data were analysed using the SPSS software program; a value of P <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The overall mean scores of SHS, SWLS and ABS were 18.53 ± 5.06, 23.06 ± 6.25 and 1.26 ± 2.40, respectively, with significant differences found across countries: dentists working in Croatia, Peru and Serbia recorded the highest scores, unlike dentists practicing in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, who recorded the lowest scores. There were significant, moderately positive correlations between the various scales: SHS and SWLS: r = 0.535, P < 0.001; SHS and ABS: r = 0.58, P < 0.001; and SWLS and ABS: r = 0.533, P < 0.001. Country of practice, age, qualification and monthly income were the significant independent predictors of SHS, SWLS and ABS. CONCLUSION: Country of residence and social characteristics were associated with dentists' responses regarding their feelings and subjective well-being.

Effect of Commonly Consumed Beverages on Color Stability of Polymethyl Methacrylate Denture Base Material.

Color change of prosthodontic materials may result in patient dissatisfaction and additional expenses for replacement. This study aimed to determine the effect of daily-consumed beverages (tea, coffee, and Pepsi®) on the color stability of two types of heat-cured acrylic resin denture base materials (Hiflex-H and DPI® Heat Cure). A total of 136 disc samples were prepared as per manufacturer instructions and divided into two main groups of 68 discs of each type (20 mm ± 0.1 mm in diameter and 3 mm ± 0.1 mm in thickness), according to the acrylic resins, and stored in distilled water for 24 hours. Each group was subdivided into four groups according to the three beverages types and distilled water (as a control). Specimens were scanned (computer analysis) three times after consumption of the beverage: 0 day (T0), 15 days (T1), and 30 days (T2). The International Commission on Illumination was used to determine the mean color change (ΔE). The most color change was apparent with tea after 30 days (ΔE = 39.21) when compared to specimens stored in distilled water (ΔE = 1.43). DPI Heat Cure acrylic resin showed more color change compared to Hiflex-H acrylic resin. When computing color change (ΔE) to NBS (National Bureau of Standards), appreciable to very much change in color was apparent with the three staining beverages compared to slight and noticeable color change with distilled water. By increasing the time of the experiment, significant increase in the mean color was observed. Tea immersion showed the greatest color changes (very much change in color, per NBS), followed by Pepsi and coffee. Increasing the immersion period increased the staining result.

Correlation between Finger Length and Occlusal Vertical Dimension in Adult Sudanese Women.

The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between the length of each of three fingers (the index finger, 2D; ring finger, 4D; and little finger, 5D) and the occlusal vertical dimension (OVD). If such a relationship were established, it would simplify and facilitate the prediction and reestablishment of the OVD in the construction of complete dentures. The correlation between the OVD and the length of 2D or 5D has already been investigated in a number of studies. However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the relationship between the length of 4D and the OVD. A total of 117 adult Sudanese women were enrolled in this study. The distance from tip of the finger to the second crease was measured using a digital caliper. The OVD was established based on two measurements: one from the septum of the nose to the menton of the chin; and the other from the tip of the nose (N) to the gnathion at the tip of the chin (Gn). All data were analyzed using the SPSS program. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between variables. Differences between means were determined using a paired-sample t-test. The p-value was set at 0.05. A significant correlation was found between finger length and the OVD. However, this correlation was significantly higher between 2D and the OVD based on N-Gn. The present findings indicate that 2D can be used to predict the OVD in adult Sudanese women.