Assessment of prevalence and measurement of mandibular lingual concavities using Cone-Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) among patients in Jeddah: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Dental implant procedure is the most common way to restore missing teeth but also comes with several complications. Success rates for dental implants are expected to be good when proper diagnosis and planning, study of bone morphology and closeness of implant with vital structures, such as nerves and blood vessels, are made pre-surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 636 adult patients, aged 18-80 years old, that came for dental implants in screening clinics or referred to specialty clinics in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the year 2019 to 2020. Instead of conventional Computed Tomography (CT), Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) X-Rays have been used to evaluate mandibular lingual concavities. RESULTS: Prevalence and measurement of lingual concavities were determined. Type U mandibles with a lingual concavity, were found to have a higher chance of lingual cortical plate but this may still vary on factors such as type of population and ethnicity. The typical finding in the mandibular posterior region is the lingual undercut. CONCLUSIONS: CBCT is a great tool used to study mandibular lingual concavities and it is essential prior the installation of dental implant to prevent life-threatening complications.

The association between salivary zinc levels and dysgeusia in COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVE: Zinc insufficiency has been proposed to play a role in taste and smell impairment in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Therefore, this study aimed at comparing salivary zinc levels in COVID-19 patients with and without dysgeusia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 127 participants were recruited for this study. The patients were divided into three groups based on their COVID-19 test results and taste impairment. Groups I and II were COVID-19 positive with and without taste loss, respectively. Group III included the negative control participants. Salivary zinc levels were measured at baseline in all groups and three months after baseline in groups I and II. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the zinc levels between baseline and three months after baseline within each group. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare zinc levels between groups with different degrees of taste loss. RESULTS: Salivary zinc levels were significantly lower in the COVID-19 positive group with taste loss compared to levels in the group without taste loss or the negative controls (p<0.005). Three months after baseline, salivary zinc levels were significantly elevated in both COVID-19 positive groups (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 patients with dysgeusia had significantly lower levels of salivary zinc than positive and negative controls. Zinc levels were elevated after recovery, which may indicate that salivary zinc is directly associated with taste abnormalities and COVID-19 outcomes. This study showed that taste impairment is associated with lower salivary zinc levels in COVID-19 patients.

Infection-Control knowledge, attitude, practice and risk perception of occupational exposure to COVID-19 among dentists: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: COVID-19 is a potentially fatal disease that was announced as a global pandemic at the beginning of the year 2020. Aim: The purpose of our cross-sectional study was to evaluate the infection-control knowledge, attitude, practice, and risk perception of occupational exposure to COVID-19 among multinational dentists. Patients and Methods: A self-designed, 33-item, English questionnaire was created and distributed through social media and digital communication platforms. The questionnaire covered the demographic data, knowledge and perception of the occupational risk of the COVID-19 infections, and compared some infection control measures taken before and after this global pandemic. The results were analyzed, and four scores were used to assess the aforementioned parameters. Results: A total of 300 multinational dentists answered our survey, with the majority being females (59%) and aging from 25 to 44 years old (68%). We found that a statistically significant relationship exists between attitude and nationality, country of practice, medical condition, and the practicing specialty (P < 0.05). In addition, risk perception had a statistically significant correlation with nationality, smoking habits, education level, and specialty (P < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant correlation between the practice score and the gender, age, smoking habits, education level, nature of the practice (private or governmental), and academia affiliation (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The study sample had good compliance with the instructions and guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), with most of them improving their infection control precautions after the virus's emergence according to the said guidelines. Furthermore, our participants were fearful of the COVID-19 virus and the fact of being potential transmitters. Despite saying that, the significant majority of them reported being confident in treating COVID-19-positive patients.

Efficacy of hyaluronic acid gel and spray in healing of extraction wound: a randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of 0.2% hyaluronic acid gel and 0.01% hyaluronic acid (HA) spray in the healing of extraction wounds using the ruler and digital planimetry method. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 30 systemically healthy female participants aged between 20-60 years requiring extraction were selected. Extraction sockets receiving 0.2% HA gel Gengigel®, 0.01% HA spray Gengigel®, and where hyaluronic acid was excluded were allocated into three groups as test group A (HA gel group), test group B (HA spray group) and control group (without HA). Socket wound closure was measured post-operative on the day of extraction and 1-week post extraction using digital planimetry and ruler method. Patient satisfaction rate was evaluated for both the gel and spray. RESULTS: The wound closure with the ruler method was 43.01% for the control group, 67.01%, and 65.82% for the gel group and spray group respectively. The wound closure with the digital planimetry method was 47.97% for the control group, 69.08% for the gel group, and 66.94% for the spray group. The gel showed better results of wound closure as compared to the spray. However, the results were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Hyaluronic acid offers a beneficial effect in early post-operative healing after extraction.