Combined treatment of dexamethasone mouthwash and low-level laser therapy in the management of aphthous-like ulcers caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: A case report.

A case of major aphthous-like ulcer was described in a 50-year-old patient. The patient showed the main signs of aphthous stomatitis painful ulcer, 1-2 cm in diameter, located on the ventral of the tongue, buccal mucosa, and the palate. These ulcers persisted for more than 3 weeks. The patient's self-administration of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was suggested as the leading cause of aphthous-like ulcers in this case. ulcers were treated with dexamethasone mouthwash and low-level laser therapy (LLLT).

Exploring How People Interact With Dental Misinformation on Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Social media has been widely utilized to spread health-related information, which has led to the possibility of spreading medical misinformation. The extent of the issue is unknown, even though policymakers, researchers, and medical professionals agree that health misinformation must be controlled and combated. OBJECTIVE: A cross-sectional study was conducted by the faculty of dentistry at Damascus University. METHODS: This quantitative cross-sectional study used a voluntary questionnaire distributed online in social media groups. Participants were of different ages, genders, and educational levels. RESULTS: Of the 301 questionnaires collected, 291 were analyzed. The study sample comprised secondary education certificates, university students, and postgraduate students. 96.6% of the study sample used two or more SM applications. 71.5% of the study sample uses Facebook more than other applications for dental information research, followed by Instagram (14.8%), Telegram (8.2%), and finally WhatsApp (5.5%). There was a significant difference between the age of the respondents and the SM application they used most (p = 0.027). 46.4% of the study sample were neutral in their answer about what they believed in the trust of information on SM sites, followed by 42.3% who did not agree with the trust of information on SM sites and 11.3 who agreed. 89.7% of the study sample visit the dentist when facing a medical problem, while 10.3% follow advice on SM sites. There was a significant difference between the age of respondents and the source they relied on when facing a medical problem (p = 0.019). 50.2% of the study sample sometimes feels that the advice on SM sites is marketing for a company or product or advertising for doctors and not others. CONCLUSION: In particular, understanding the methods and prevalence of health misinformation, as well as the current gaps in knowledge in this area, will help us to guide future research and, more specifically, to develop evidence-based digital policy action plans targeted at addressing this public health issue through various social media platforms.

Evaluation of the Effect of Antihypertensive Drugs on the Values of Dental Pulp Oxygen Saturation in Hypertension Patients: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose This study aimed to know about the positive or negative effect of antihypertensive drugs of different groups on the values of dental pulp oxygen saturation in hypertension patients. Materials and Methods A case-control study to evaluate the impact of the antihypertensive drugs on the values of dental pulp oxygen saturation in hypertension patients. The studied sample consisted of 40 participants, and they were distributed into two groups: Group I (n=20): Hypertension patients treated with antihypertensive drugs, and Group II (n=20): Healthy participants. A finger pulse oximeter was recorded after a rest period of 15 minutes by BCI® Advisor® vital signs monitor. The patient was then asked to use a chlorhexidine digluconate mouth rinse for five minutes, and the two dental pulp pulse oximeters for the central upper incisors were also recorded for all participants. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results ​​​​​​The results showed that there was no significant difference between the finger pulse oximeters of the two studied groups (P-value = 0.421). The two dental pulp oxygen saturation was higher than the control group with statistically significant (P-value = 0.043, P-value = 0.002). Conclusions Within the limitation of this study, it can be concluded that antihypertensive drugs increase the dental pulp oxygen saturation in patients with hypertension who are treated with antihypertensive drugs, and thus there is a positive effect of these drugs in stimulating the dental pulp.

Assessment of the Possible Correlation between the Presence of Helicobacter Pylori Infection and Hairy Tongue Lesion in a Group of Patients in Syria: A Cross-Sectional and Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the presence of hairy tongue and H. pylori infection in patients referring to their blood test based on the serum levels of anti-H pylori IgG antibodies. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Oral Medicine, University of Damascus Dental School, between February 2021 and January 2022. The sample size of 40 patients (23 males, 17 females), whose ages ranged from 20-79 years with a mean age of 41.5 ± 12 years, was calculated using the G*power 3.1.3, with a statistical power of 80% and a significance level of 0.05. The hairy tongue index was assessed by a visual method based on observing the dorsum tongue appearance. Then, a blood test was performed to detect the presence of H. pylori by Immulite 2000 XPi. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software 22.0, Chi-square. RESULTS: The prevalence of hairy tongue was higher among males (75%) as compared to females (25%) and was found to be statistically significant (p = 0.026). The hairy tongue lesions were found to be least in the 20-39 age group and most prevalent in the 40-59 age group, without statistically significant correlation. H. pylori infection was detected positive in 70% and negative in 30% of hairy tongue patients, compared to the control group, where the rates were 15% and 85%, respectively, with a statistically significant correlation between infection with H. pylori and hairy tongue (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results strongly suggest that the hairy tongue might be considered an indicator of H. pylori infection.

Major Stress Sources Amongst Dental Students at Damascus University, Syria.

INTRODUCTION: Stress amongst dental students is frequently reported. Various environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural factors affect students' perceived stress levels. The aim of this study was to investigate stress levels and sources amongst undergraduate dental students at Damascus University, Syria. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used. A questionnaire was undertaken in 2019 at the Faculty of Dentistry at Damascus University. Students participated voluntarily in the survey. The sample comprised students at the preclinical and clinical stage. A modified 29-item version of the validated Dental Environmental Stress (DES) questionnaire with a 5-point scale (1 = not stressful to 5 = extremely stressful) was used as the measurement tool. Ethical approval was granted by Damascus University. RESULTS: In all, 365 students participated in the study, with a response rate of 96% (365/379). Cronbach's alpha was 0.83, indicating good reliability of the measurement tool. The overall mean score of the perceived stress was 2.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5-2.7). The mean scores for clinical factors, academic work, educational environment, personal factors, and living accommodation were 3.22 (95% CI, 3.1-3.3), 3.17 (95% CI, 3.1-3.2), 2.99 (95% CI, 2.9-3.0), 2.15 (95% CI, 2.1-2.2), 2.15 (95% CI, 2.0-2.2), respectively. The specific stressors with the highest mean scores were lack of dental equipment and difficulty in finding requested clinical cases; the respective means were 4.1 (95% CI, 4.0-4.2) and 3.9 (95% CI, 3.8-4.0). CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed moderate stress levels amongst students. The major stress factors pertained to stressors from the clinical, academic, and educational environment domains. Certain clinical and environmental stressors, such as difficulty in finding clinical cases and lack of dental equipment, were more powerful than the strongest academic stressors, such as examinations and grades and amount of assigned work.