Perception of Dental Students of COMS-TH regarding Future of Dentistry in Nepal amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: There is a global crisis which has been led by COVID-19. The patients undergoingdental procedures and dental professionals are at higher risk of contracting this disease owing toaerosols generated and a lot of face to face contact during the procedures. The aim of this study was to know the perceptions of dental students of COMS-TH regarding future of dentistry in Nepal amidCOVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at COMS-TH, Bharatpur by sending an online e-survey questionnaire to 146 dental students out of which 99 responded. The e-survey questionnaire consisted of three parts which consisted of questions about demographics, knowledge about COVID-19 and their perceptions about future of dentistry. RESULTS: The results of the study depicted that most of the students thought dentistry is good and noble profession and will recommend it to young medical aspirants. Most of them wanted to pursue post graduation courses in future giving preference to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that most of the dental students were satisfied with dentistry as their profession and wanted National Dental Association to fix the minimum charges of each dental procedure. Also there is a need to start more post graduation courses in existing institutions providing dental education as most of the students want to pursue it in future.

Assessment of the Attitude and Knowledge of the Principles and Practices of Orthodontic Treatment Among the Non-orthodontic Specialists and General Practitioner Dentists.

INTRODUCTION: General practitioner dentists and non-orthodontic specialties ought to have the knowledge of the basic principles and practices of orthodontics in order to educate the patients, diagnose their problems correctly and for proper referral. The objective of the present study is to assess the attitude and knowledge of the general practitioner dentists and non-orthodontic specialists towards the basic principles and practices of orthodontics. METHODS: This study was performed by presenting a closed questionnaire to a total of 78 participants out of which 46 were general practitioners and 32 were non-orthodontic specialists. A questionnaire consisting of a total of 21 questions was distributed and each question was allocated 0.5 marks for correct response whereas no deduction for wrong answer. RESULTS: In this present study, the total mean score of the evaluation of the questionnaire came out for general practitioner dentist and the non-orthodontic dental specialists was 13.92 and 16.69 respectively. The present study showed a statistically highly significant knowledge and attitude difference between Group A and Group B ( P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a need for a increased clinically oriented education in the undergraduate courses and a multi-disciplinary inter department seminar presentations and forums set up for the post graduation courses for them to understand the scope of each other's specialties.

Awareness Level of Radiation Protection among Dental Students.

INTRODUCTION: Dental radiographs have always been the mainstay of the diagnosis of oral diseases. Even if the radiation hazard posed by the dental radiographs is low but still accumulation of such low level radiation in human body over a time period can pose a threat to the overall health of the individual. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of dental students about radiation protection and hazards. METHODS: The present cross sectional study was conducted by enrolling one hundred 4th year dental students from the two teaching hospitals in Chitwan district of Nepal. A questionnaire consisting of a total of 20 questions was distributed and each question was allocated 0.5 marks for correct response whereas no deduction for wrong answer. RESULTS: The results of the present study depicted that 85 (85%) of the total students enrolled in the study had "good" knowledge about the radiation physics, protection and hazards whereas only 15 (15%) of them had "poor" knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that teachers should involve in imparting more and more knowledge as well as training about the topic and dental curriculum should be altered so as to train the budding dentists about all aspects of radiation.

Navigation-guided optic canal decompression for traumatic optic neuropathy: Two case reports.

Two cases of traumatic optic neuropathy presented with profound loss of vision. Both cases received a course of intravenous corticosteroids elsewhere but did not improve. They underwent Navigation guided optic canal decompression via external transcaruncular approach, following which both cases showed visual improvement. Postoperative Visual Evoked Potential and optical coherence technology of Retinal nerve fibre layer showed improvement. These case reports emphasize on the role of stereotactic navigation technology for optic canal decompression in cases of traumatic optic neuropathy.

An interesting case of angiogenesis in cavernous hemangioma.

Cavernous hemangioma is the most common orbital tumor in adult. There is lot of literatures for clinicopathological features of this tumor. These tumors had been studied for the model of angiogenesis in many of the experimental setups. We present a case of 34-year-old male with this tumor in the left eye with computerized tomography evidence. Postsurgical laboratory findings gave interesting evidence of tumor angiogenesis with tumor endothelial cells and sprouting of the small vessels endothelial cells. Podosome rosette could be conceptualized from the characteristic patterns seen in the tumor.

Evaluation of Microleakage of Dental Composites Using Bonding Agents with Different Placement Techniques: An Invitro Study.

BACKGROUND: The rapid progress of adhesive dentistry over the past decade has been attributed to the significant advances in dentin bonding technology. Requirements of an ideal bonding agent are quite similar to those indicated by Buonocore despite of many improvements. As we enter the new millennium, it is important for us to examine the past. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the microleakage of three bonding agents namely Single Bond, Prime & Bond NT and Excite using different composite materials namely Z100, Spectrum TPH, Tetric with three different placement techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty four extracted human premolars were taken & divided into 9 groups depending upon application of bonding agents followed by composite restorations. Specimens were subjected to thermal cycling at 6(0)C, 37(0)C, 54(0)C and again at 37(0)C & then placed in 10 ml each of freshly prepared 50% silver nitrate solution for 2 hour in darkness, washed & placed under sun light for 24 hours. The sectioned specimens were then observed under stereomicroscope to detect microleakage. RESULTS: On comparing the mean microleakage scores among the three groups, maximum microleakage scores have been obtained when no bonding agent was used, while least microleakage scores were obtained with double coat of bonding agent. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that the placement of bonding agent technique before composite restoration can be effective to limit the microleakage at the tooth restoration interface.

Class II Division 1 in New Dimension: Role of Posterior Transverse Interarch Discrepancy in Class II Division 1 Malocclusion During the Mixed Dentition Period.

INTRODUCTION: Posterior transverse discrepancy as seen in some cases of Class II Division 1 malocclusion in mixed dentition period can be related to typical skeletofacial characteristics. These features when studied early in the mixed dentition period give a clear view of the desired appropriate treatment plan in a particular case. AIM: The purpose of this study was to establish a simple method to determine the posterior (intermolar) transverse discrepancy and craniofacial skeletal features between the dental arches during the mixed dentition in a sample of Class II Division 1 patients to provide diagnostic and therapeutic guidance in the early approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 60 Class II Division 1 patients in mixed dention that were divided into 30 Class II Division 1 patients with posterior transverse interarch discrepancy {Class II (I) PTID group} and 30 Class II Division 1 patients without posterior transverse interarch discrepancy {Class II (I) NPTID group}. Thirty Class I subjects in mixed dentition were included as control. RESULTS: The skeletal features of the Class II group without PTID are those of the skeletal Class II associated with 'anatomic' mandibular retrusion (due to a micrognathic mandible) and those of the Class II group with PTID as skeletal Class II associated with only a 'functional' mandibular retrusion (due to a posteriorly displaced mandible of normal size). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the role of occlusion in the control of maxillomandibular skeletal relationships.The treatment strategies could be planned on the basis of the transverse component of Class II Division 1 groups in the mixed dentition period.