The impact of endodontic workload and allocated treatment time of dentists in turkey on perceived stress and complication frequency and suggested solutions.

Background: Procedural complications and workload have been reported as sources of stress in dentistry. Aim: To investigate the impact of endodontic workload and allocated treatment time of dentists on perceived stress and frequency of complications. Material and Methods: The online survey included questions to evaluate the average number of root canal treatments per week, stress levels during root canal treatment, frequency of single-visit root canal treatments, time spent on single-visit treatments, frequency of endodontic complications per week, preference for management of complication, and proposed solutions. Results: A negative correlation was found between endodontic workload and perceived stress, which was statistically significant at slight and moderate stress levels (P < 0.05). Amongst the clinicians who feel "very stressful" during the treatment, the clinicians who allocate only 20 minutes or less per treatment had the highest frequency, and their numbers were significantly higher than clinicians who spent 20-40 minutes per treatment (P < 0.05). Amongst the clinicians who experience instrument separation 4-6 times/week, the number of clinicians who spent 40-60 minutes or more than 60 minutes per root canal treatment was significantly lower in comparison to the number of clinicians who spent 20-40 minutes (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Increasing the quality of dental equipment and reducing the time pressure on dentists might result in lesser stress levels of clinicians and fewer endodontic complications.

Evaluation of distance learning and online exam experience of Turkish undergraduate dental students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Background: Although distance education has been received as an effective educational method in dentistry, the assessment of distance learning and online-exam methods in instantaneous conditions such as a pandemic has not been completely researched. Aims: The purpose of the present study was to assess student satisfaction with the distance learning and online-exam experience of dental students in Turkey during the pandemic. Subjects and Methods: Dental students in selected Turkish universities were invited to participate in the research. As a data collection tool, socio-demographic data and a web-based questionnaire consisting of 23 questions, addressing the problems experienced in education during the Covid-19 pandemic period and questioning the solutions of students regarding these problems were used. Satisfaction and attitudes towards distance education and online exams were examined. Results: A total of 1375 students participated in the study. The percentages of students at the various grades of dental school were as follows: first grade = 11.2%, second grade = 18.2%, third grade = 28.3%, fourth grade = 27%, and fifth grade = 15.1%. There is a significant relationship between classes and all scale expressions (P < 0.05). While 11.2% of the students who responded had not experienced any problems, the most common problem was that practical training could not be performed (45.8%) and the lessons were inefficient (29.7%). Conclusions: Dental students demonstrated a low degree of satisfaction and a negative attitude towards distance learning and the quality of presentation of educational material.

'Staged' liver resection in synchronous and metachronous colorectal hepatic metastases: differences in clinicopathological features and outcome.

AIM: Approximately 25% of the patients with colorectal cancer already have liver metastases at diagnosis and another 30% will develop them subsequently. The features and prognosis of patients with synchronous and metachronus colorectal liver metastases, treated with primary resection first followed by partial liver resection were analysed. METHOD: Curative staged resection of liver metastases was performed in 272 consecutive patients. Demographics, characteristics of the primary tumour and metastatic tumours, surgery-related data and outcome were analysed. RESULTS: Synchronous metastases were present in 105 (39%) patients and metachronous metastases in 167 (61%). More patients in the synchronous group had an advanced primary tumour (T3/T4 and/or node positivity), more than three liver metastases and bilobar distribution. A significantly higher percentage of patients in the synchronous group received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The 5-year survival rate in the group of 272 patients was 38%. Patients with more than three metastases had a significantly worse survival rate. There were no differences in disease-free and overall survival rates between the synchronous and metachronous group. CONCLUSION: Although patients with synchronous colorectal liver metastases may have poorer biological features, there was no difference in 5-year disease-free and overall survival compared with patients with metachronous metastases. This may be explained by the observation that patients in the synchronous group received significantly more neoadjuvant chemotherapy.