Evaluation of Survival Rates of Dental Implants and the Risk Factors: A Retrospective Follow-Up Study.

Introduction The current research sets out to assess implant early survival rates and identify relevant parameters. Methods The research spanned the years 2021 and 2022 and included all individuals who had dental implants. Various criteria, such as age, sex, maxilla/mandible, implant location, immediate implant, implant diameter, implant length, and others, were used to determine the implant survival rate in the research. A multiple logistic regression model was used to show the risk variables for early survival rates of implants, and components with p < 0.05 were further included after the Chi-square test was employed to filter them. Results The current research included 128 patients who had a single implant procedure, including 70 males and 58 females. The early survival rate was 91.40%, and 117 implants were retained after implantation. Risk variables that were shown to be associated with early survival rates were patients aged 30-60 years (OR: 2.542), immediate implant placement (OR: 3.742), and implant length less than 10 mm (OR: 3.972). Conclusions Age, tooth location, implant length, and immediate implantation were risk variables that contributed to our subjects' above 91% early survival rate of implants.

Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of dental practitioners regarding the COVID-19 pandemic: A multinational study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global public health emergency that is affecting people across the globe. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of dental practitioners regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An online questionnaire was distributed among dentists across the globe using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. The questionnaire was divided into 4 sections: the 1st one contained personal information, whereas the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sections assessed knowledge (11 questions), attitudes (6 questions) and practices (7 questions) of the dentists. The data was subjected to the Shapiro-Wilk test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate linear regression, and Pearson's correlation; 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated and odds ratio (OR) was obtained. The analysis was done using IBM SPSS for Windows, v. 21.0. RESULTS: The total number of the responses received (860) was divided with regard to various continents (Asia, Americas - North and South, Europe, Africa, and other - Australia and Antarctica). The largest number of dentists came from the Asian continent (264; 30.7%). Most dentists had a degree of MDS (Master of Dental Science) (301; 35.0%), followed by BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) (282; 32.8%) and DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) (226; 26.3%). High/Good knowledge and practice scores were observed among 92.7% and 79.5 % of the dentists, respectively. Good knowledge scores were significantly associated with qualifications (p = 0.04) and years of practice (p = 0.02); good practice scores were associated with qualifications only (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The dentists were found to have good knowledge and practice scores, which is important to combat COVID-19. They are advised to follow the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines in their clinics, and sensitize their staff so that no stone is left unturned in defeating this pandemic.

Health literacy and oral health literacy: are they associated? A cross sectional survey among undergraduate students of tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula), India

INTRODUCTION: Health Literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate decisions. As with general health; achieving and maintaining oral health requires one to be able to understand, interpret and act on various types of health information. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to determine the association between health literacy and oral health literacy among undergraduate students in tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula), India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 490 undergraduate students studying in tricity, from randomly selected 10 colleges. The data was collected by a single trained examiner, using a structured proforma. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, REALM-66 and REALD-30. The subject was given a copy of list of words to be pronounced and score one was given for each word pronounced correctly. RESULTS: REALM-66 scores showed that subjects with health literacy level equivalent to fourth- sixth grade is 1%, seventh- eighth grade was 64.4% and 29.6% for ninth grade and above. REALD-30 scores showed that 37.6% subjects had low level of literacy, 33.1% had moderate and 29.3% had high level of literacy. REALM and REALD scores were found to be positively correlated for qualification and genders. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting association between health and oral health literacy. As the correlations were not strong, thus the results should be regarded as a first step to provide evidence.

Reasons for extraction in primary teeth among 5-12 years school children in Haryana, India- A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Due to high prevalence of oral diseases extraction of primary teeth is a common and a major concern in developing countries. These teeth are given least importance as they are believed to shed off automatically, thus leading to serious problems like crowding and malocclusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out among children aged 5 to 12 years among 1347 children. The data was recorded on a prestructured questionnaire. Reasons for extraction of teeth were based on Kay and Blinkhorn criteria. RESULTS: 20.4% children were having tooth loss due to various reasons. The main reason for extraction was found to be caries in 64.3% followed by trauma in maxillary teeth among 43.02% of children. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of early loss of primary teeth result in occlusal disturbances and space loss among children. Hence, proper treatment regimens must be followed by the dental professionals and should be the need of the hour. Key words:Extraction, children, primary teeth, caries.

Perception of dental practitioners regarding the use of antioxidants in oral health.

BACKGROUND: Free radicals play a key role in the development of several pathological conditions. Therefore, antioxidants (AOs) are the first line of defense against free radical damage and are critical for maintaining optimum health and well-being. OBJECTIVES: To assess the perception of dental practitioners regarding use of antioxidants in oral health. METHOD: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 296 dental practitioners in Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, India). A self-structured close-ended questionnaire was used to assess the perception of dentists regarding the use of antioxidants in their patients. It consisted of 12 questions with dichotomous response and five point likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, followed by the Chi-square test to check significant differences between the responses. Correlation between responses were analysed through the Spearman's rank correlation. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 (Illinois, Chicago, USA). RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was observed between genders, with females 181 (61%) having more knowledge than males 115 (39%) regarding the use of antioxidants in their clinical practice. It has been found that dental professionals in academics prescribes more antioxidants to their patients than the private practitioners. Postgraduates 76 (77.6%) had a higher level of knowledge than graduates 86 (43%). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge about antioxidants should be highlighted in the health sciences curriculum. It is recommended to expand the use of antioxidants in oral health to bring down the burden of chronic diseases like periodontitis and catastrophic diseases like precancerous lesions and oral cancer. KEY WORDS: antioxidants, free radicals, mouth neoplasms, oral health.

Tooth Jewellery- Its Knowledge and Practice Among Dentists in Tricity, India.

INTRODUCTION: The world of fashion is ever changing and this dynamics applies to dentistry. As dentistry and dental treatments have become necessary facet of a healthy life and therefore down the line fashion prospect of tooth jewellery are also getting fused into it. AIM: To assess the knowledge and practice of tooth jewellery among practicing dentists of Tricity, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 310 dental practitioners in Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula), India. A self-administered, close-ended questionnaire was distributed among all the dental practitioners in order to assess their knowledge and practice regarding tooth jewellery. Responses of the questionnaire was obtained on the dichotomous scale with Yes and No. Right answers were given a score of 2 whereas the wrong answers were given as score of 1. The data was analyzed using unpaired students t-test, one way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A significant difference was observed among the genders with males being three times more knowledgeable (OR=3.5, 95%CI: 0.8-2.8). It has been found that knowledge and practice scores of dental practitioners who spend more than 10 hours per day have two times more knowledge (OR= 2.3, 95%CI:0.08-1.1) than others. The dentists holding the masters degree were having three times more knowledge than the graduates' ones (OR= 2.3, 95%C.I:0.1-1.9). CONCLUSION: The present study concluded that dental practitioners had sufficient knowledge about tooth jewellery. Practice of tooth jewellery in the dental clinics was found to be adequate but it was also associated with some complications. To overcome this, it is advised that professional and government bodies should create strategies for enhancing and improving people's knowledge as well as make them aware of the pros and cons while using tooth jewellery which shall further enhance their smile.

Knowledge regarding Zika virus infection among dental practitioners of tricity area (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali), India.

BACKGROUND: Zika virus (ZIKV), a vector-borne virus affecting a large number of people, has today become a major public health concern in the developed and developing countries worldwide. AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of ZIKV among dental practitioners residing in Tricity area (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali), India. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 412 private dental practitioners were randomly sampled of whom 254 (61.6%) responded to participate in this cross-sectional survey. A self-structured, closed-ended questionnaire was administered to each participant to record demographic and professional characteristics followed by their knowledge regarding ZIKV. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 20 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). The results were expressed in percentages. Multivariable linear regression analysis was carried out to assess the association of participant's demographics and professional characteristics with knowledge. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 152 (59.9%) male and 102 (40.1%) female practitioners. Majority of the practitioners belonged to the age group of 25-34 years (66.1%). High knowledge was reported by only 38.2% of the practitioners. A statistically significant difference was seen when mean knowledge scores were compared with the qualification of the participants (P = 0.04), with postgraduates having more knowledge than graduates regarding ZIKV. Most of the knowledge of the practitioners came from television (37.8%) while journals only represented 4.7% of the total information gained. CONCLUSION: ZIKV infection, a new public health emergency, needs to be addressed urgently. All health care professionals should have adequate knowledge of the virus and be conversant with necessary precautionary measures to be taken making it imperative that dental practitioners strive to continually update their knowledge from time to time.

High levels of physical inactivity amongst dental professionals: a questionnaire based cross sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: A Dentist plays an important role in providing health education (General and Oral) to the community. Questions arise regarding their own health, which in turn affects their patients' counselling for leading a healthy and a physically active life. AIM: To measure and compare the amount of physical activity present amongst dental professionals with the general population of Greater Noida. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to measure physical activity and statistical significance was calculated using SPSS version 21.0. Statistical significance was kept as p <.05. RESULTS: Compared to the general population, Dentists were more obese and reported increased levels of low physical activity. Dentists had an increased and significant transportation and leisure time activity (p= .03 and .01) whereas, the general population had a higher level of vigorous activity(p = <.01). The MET hour/week for dentists and general population was 33.72 and 36.24 respectively, which was quite low as compared to European population. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that dentists report a lower level of physical activity as compared to the general population of Greater Noida. However, on a global scale, the physical inactiveness of dentists and general population alike could pose a serious health hazard and if kept unchecked, shall increase the global burden of chronic disease.