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Background: Dental stem cells derived from tooth structures are adult stem cells that have received attention of researchers over the past decade. Dental stem cells can be used to regenerate dental tissues as well as non dental organs. These dental stem cells are readily accessible as compared to other sources of stem cells and can be obtained and stored for future use through minimally invasive procedures. Research in this field is growing at a fast pace and it is essential that awareness regarding the same should be present amongst professionals., Aim: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge and attitude of Indian dentists regarding dental stem cells., Material and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive, questionnaire based survey based on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) was conducted and a total of 823 dentists from Maharashtra, India participated in the survey. The Pearson's Chi-Square Test and percentages of the total were used for statistical analysis., Results and Conclusion: A total of 823 dentists completed the questionnaire survey; out of which 396 were male and 427 were female. Maximum respondents (53%) were dental graduates, followed by post graduates (45%) and PhD (1.7%). Data from the study revealed that there is good awareness regarding stem cells in general. However; the awareness, knowledge regarding sources, applications, uses and clinical research guidelines regarding dental stem cells is lacking amongst most dentists. Despite this lack of knowledge, dentists are keen on updating their knowledge regarding dental stem cells.

Aim: To compare the accuracy and repeatability of three diagnostic systems; visual inspection, bitewing radiography, and CarieScan PRO for occlusal caries diagnosis in primary molars., Materials and Methods: 216 occlusal surfaces of primary molars examined in turn by two examiners using each of three diagnostic systems (visual inspection, bitewing radiography, and CarieScan PRO). Examiners indicated operative intervention (validation method) for 104 teeth which were used for statistical analysis. The validation method was cavity preparation when the two examiners agreed about the presence of dentinal caries. Sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each diagnostic technique. Inter- and intra-examiner repeatability was calculated for each diagnostic system using the Cohen's kappa statistics., Results: Visual inspection showed the highest sensitivity (0.93). The highest sensitivity and NPVs were provided by CarieScan PRO (0.97 and 0.95, respectively) however this was offset by a lower specificity (0.82) compared to other techniques. The CarieScan PRO gave the highest values of Cohen's kappa statistics., Conclusion: This study showed low sensitivity but substantial specificity with visual inspection. Bitewing radiography performed poorly overall when compared with the other two systems. The CarieScan PRO technique gave the highest overall combination of sensitivity and specificity for detection of occlusal caries.