Evaluating the effect of using anti-stress balls as a distraction technique in reducing pain during inferior alveolar nerve block injection: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of using anti-stress balls in reducing patients' pain during injection of the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, 32 individuals were divided into two groups. The conventional method of anesthesia injection was performed using IANB conventional injection technique. During the injection, individuals in the anti-stress ball group were asked to use the anti-stress ball as a distraction technique. For the control group, no supersede methods were used for pain control. Finally, both groups were asked to record their pain utilizing the numerical rating scale (NRS). The participants' vital signs were monitored before and after injection. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, independent T-test, and Fisher's exact chi-square test were performed for statistical analysis (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Sixteen females and 16 males in the age range of 40 to 20 years old participated in this study. The mean pain score in the anti-stress ball group was significantly lower (p < 0.001). In both sexes, the pain score in the anti-stress ball group was significantly lower (males p < 0.001 and females p = 0.001). In addition, in all age ranges, the pain score in the control group was higher except for the above 35 years old participants (p = 0.078). Moreover, there were no significant differences in individuals' vital signs (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Utilizing an anti-stress ball reduces patients' pain significantly during IANB in both sexes and individuals who are below 35 years without changing vital signs. CLINICAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: IRCT20220815055704N1.

Evaluation of histogram equalization and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization effect on image quality and fractal dimensions of digital periapical radiographs.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the effects of histogram equalization (HE) and contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) on periapical images and fractal dimensions in the periapical region. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, digital periapical images were selected from the archive of Dentistry School of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The radiographs were taken from mandibular and maxillary anterior single root teeth with healthy root and periodontium. After applying HE and CLAHE algorithms to images, two radiologists evaluated the quality of apex detection from using a 5-point Likert scale (from 5 for very good image quality to 1 for very bad image quality). Afterward, all the images were imported to the ImageJ application, and the region of interest (ROI) was specified as the region between the two central incisors. The fractal box-counting method was used to determine fractal dimensions (FD) values. Nonparametric Wilcoxon-Friedman test, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient test, T-test, and Pair T-test were performed as statistical analysis (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Fifty-three radiographs were analyzed and the image quality assessments were significantly different between raw images and images after performing HE, CLAHE (p value < 0.001), and using CLAHE algorithm significantly increases image quality assessments more than HE (p value = 0.009). There was a significant difference in FD values for images after applying CLAHE and HE compared to raw images (p value < 0.001), and HE decreased the FD value significantly more than CLAHE (p value = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Employing CLAHE and HE algorithm via OpenCV python library improves the periapical image quality, which is more significant using the CLAHE algorithm. Moreover, applying CLAHE and HE reduces trabecular bone structure detection and FD values in periapical images, especially in HE.

Science Mapping Analysis of COVID-19 Articles Published in Dental Journals.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an ongoing global health crisis with unmatched outcomes and effects. This pandemic has caused an infodemic of article publication in scientific journals. Dental journals have been active in the publication of COVID-19 related articles from the beginning of the pandemic. In this cross-sectional survey, we present an analysis of the scientific output of dental journals on COVID-19. The PubMed COVID-19 database was searched with the "Dental Journals" filter. Data including journal name, country, month of publication and number of citations were recorded. Science mapping analysis of the most used keywords was also performed. The search retrieved a total of 659 articles, of which 28 were excluded. Oral Diseases has published the most COVID-19 articles (15.1%), followed by the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (8.6%) and the Journal of Dental Education (7.9%). Most of the articles were from researchers from the United States (168), United Kingdom (120) and Brazil (83). The number of citations of the published articles ranged from 0 to 406, with most articles (64.2%) having no citations. Science Mapping analysis revealed that the most used keywords were coronavirus infections, pandemics and humans. The dental community has been active in the publication of COVID-19 articles from the beginning of the pandemic. The papers published by dental journals explore issues such as the management of clinical practices during the outbreak, infection control in the dental setting, signs and symptoms of COVID-19 affecting the oral cavity, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational and clinical programs.