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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore and assess self-reported trait mindfulness and artwork/drawings as tools to predict students' performance. METHODS This longitudinal study explored whether year 2 dental students' artwork/drawings produced during the first week of a preclinical endodontics course and Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) scores could be used as a predictor of performance (grades/rank) at the end of the course. A convergent design of mixed methods approaches was used to integrate the quantitative and qualitative datasets. Qualitative analysis consisted of a multilayered process of thematic analysis of artwork/drawings that was used to generate codes, categories, and themes-according to lower and higher students' grades. Quantitative analysis consisted of statistical correlation between mindfulness scores and final grades. Findings were independently analyzed and further merged to answer our research question. RESULTS The bivariate analysis found nonsignificant relationship between students' grades/rank and mindfulness scores: Pearson's correlation r = -0.097 (p = 0.578) and Spearman's correlation rho = 0.120 (p = 0.494). Codes, categories, and themes resulting from graphical data collected from the artwork/drawings strongly suggested that the higher students' grades group depicted solutions to deal with negative feelings/emotions and presented traits of confidence to reach goals. Artworks produced from students with lower grades left questions, such as in relation to competency in dentistry, unanswered, but at the same time, they seemed to perceive everything as emotion related. Upon merging the findings, we recognized more image components suggestive of positive feelings exuding from the artworks/drawings of higher grades group; but an increase in mindfulness was not associated with increase (or decrease) in final grade. CONCLUSION Feelings/emotions represented in the artwork/drawings produced in the beginning of the course predicted students' performance at the end of the course; however, self-reported trait mindfulness was not correlated with performance.

BACKGROUND There is an improvement in oral health status among people who receive preventive dental care during their lifetime, highlighting the possible effect in resolving oral health problems and consequently oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). AIM Assessed the effect of routine dental attendance on child OHRQoL. DESIGN This cohort study used baseline data from 639 preschoolers from 2010. After 7 years, 449 children were re-examined (70.3%). Mothers of the children completed a questionnaire collecting data on the pattern of use of dental services. Children were classified as adhering to long-term routine dental attendance according to their pattern of use (routine vs curative) in the baseline and in follow-up. The child OHRQoL was assessed through the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ8-10). The association between routine dental attendance and child OHRQoL was assessed using multilevel Poisson regression models. RESULTS The proportion of participants who reported the worst CPQ8-10 scores were higher among those who, at some point in their life, experienced a curative dental attendance. Also, the mean CPQ8-10 was two times higher for non-routine dental attendance. CONCLUSION The findings showed that there is an impact of long-term routine attendance on child OHRQoL. This is important for tackling oral health iniquities.

This study aims to evaluate the influence of toothache in early adolescence on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) on later adolescence.A longitudinal study was conducted, starting in 2012 within a random sample of 1,134 adolescents of 12-year-olds, in Santa Maria, Brazil. Clinical, socioeconomic, demographic, and subjective variables were obtained. Toothache was collected through the question "In the last 6 months, did you have toothache?" Six years later, the same adolescents answered the short form of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14). Multilevel Poisson regression was used to evaluate the association between toothache at baseline (2012) with overall and domain-specific CPQ11-14 scores at follow-up (2018).A total of 769 adolescents were revaluated in 2018 (68% rate retention), with a mean age of 17.5 years (SD, 0.64). Adolescents who reported toothache at the baseline presented a had a higher mean score in the overall CPQ questionnaire during follow-up (Incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.25; 95% CI 1.20-1.31). Toothache was also associated with all domain-specific CPQ11-14 even after adjusting the other variables.Brazilian adolescents who had toothache in early adolescence, even if only a single episode, have a negative impact on OHRQoL throughout adolescence.These findings serve as a warning for dental professionals to dedicate their preventive approaches and to promote healthy standards in this age group, in order to avoid episodes of toothache and negative impact on OHRQoL.

AIM To evaluate and understand the impact of dental treatment on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of adolescents. DESIGN A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was performed. A sample of 182 adolescents, aged 10 and 15 years old who had finished their dental treatment at adolescent dental clinic of Federal University of Santa Maria from 2010 to 2016, were included. Participants answered the short form of Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) prior to their dental treatment and 1 month after concluding the treatment. The effect size was calculated to assess magnitude of change. In qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews took place at the end of the dental treatment. Interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed according to thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke. RESULTS The effect sizes ranged from 0.35 to 1.00, and the oral symptom domain presented the greatest effect. Sixteen interviews were conducted and five themes emerged: concept of quality of life, oral health influenced by oral conditions, oral health symptoms influencing seeking care behavior, personal and subjective experiences, and dental educational environment. CONCLUSION Dental treatment has an uncountable meaning for adolescents because it has a psychosocial meaning in this phase of life and it is able to improve their OHRQoL.

Purpose/objectives (1) to assess the ability of dental students to use mind maps to express the relationships of endodontic theory and technique; (2) to explore features illustrated from the highest- and lowest-graded mind maps; and (3) to evaluate improvements in successive mind maps from the same student. Methods A total of 31 second-year students were asked to configure a mind map on root canal cleaning-shaping and then 18 weeks later develop a second mind map on root canal obturation. Faculty visually analyzed the mind maps using a qualitative approach: a multilayered process of thematic analysis. Codes and themes were generated to investigate if students were able to express appropriate and evidence-based ideas on the topics (accuracy of relationships and depth of information presented). Two of the highest- and 2 of the lowest-graded mind maps for each activity were directly compared. Improvement by the same student from the first to second mind map was also evaluated based on trend/style and creativity. Results The majority of the students accurately expressed the scientific basis for root canal cleaning-shaping and obturation. The highest-graded mind maps displayed the biomedical and humanistic conceptions of critical thinking. In comparing the second mind map to the first, nearly 50% of the students incorporated more detail and artistic expression in the second map. Conclusions using mind maps in dental education can benefit students with different learning styles and help the instructor to identify the level of conceptualization that the student had developed about a topic.

Aim To compare the frequency of misconceptions amongst dental students resulting from assessments in different subject areas using different types of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). We wanted to know whether misconceptions, or strongly held incorrect beliefs, differed by subject area or question type. Methods A total of 104 students completed two assessments that included 20 MCQs on endodontics and 20 MCQs on dental implants. On each examination, 10 questions were scenario-type questions requiring interpretation or analysis and 10 questions were factual-based, knowledge questions. Incorrect responses and confidence levels by student and subject were recorded for a comparison of average misconceptions by question type and for correlations between scenario and knowledge question types for misconceptions on both assessments. Results Students were overly confident on their incorrect responses and misconceptions for both assessments. On the endodontic examination, students held a statistically significant higher number of mean misconceptions on scenario questions than for knowledge questions, but the difference was not statistically significant for the dental implant examination. There was a moderately weak relationship between scenario and knowledge questions for misconceptions on the endodontic (r=.31) and dental implant (r=.20) assessments, suggesting students who have misconceptions on knowledge questions are somewhat more likely to have misconceptions on scenario questions. Conclusion Students had a consistent rate of overconfidence (75%) in their incorrect responses regardless of question type or dental subject. Questions that prompted a higher per cent of incorrect responses were more likely to detect misconceptions, as students were highly confident in their mistakes, for both assessments.

This study investigated the effect of blood-contamination on the push-out bond strength of BiodentineTM (BD) and MTA Angelus® (MTA-A) to root dentin over time. Twenty-five teeth were sectioned horizontally to obtain 120 root slices. The lumens were filled with MTA-A or BD: 60 for each cement (30 uncontaminated and 30 blood contaminated). Push out bond strength to dentin was assessed at 24 h (n=10), 7 days (n=10) and 28 days (n=10). Failure modes were classified as: cohesive, adhesive or mixed failure. Two-way ANOVA was used to investigate the interaction between blood contamination vs. hydration period. Mann Whitney test compared different materials in each period, and it also compared the contaminated versus uncontaminated material for each period. Friedman, followed by Dunn`s test, compared periods of hydration for each material, regardless of blood contamination. Failure modes were reported descriptively. The interaction hydration period vs. blood contamination was highly significant for MTA-A (P=0.001) and it was not significant for BD (P=0.474). There were no differences between bond strength of uncontaminated and contaminated BD in any of the periods. Bond strength of uncontaminated MTA-A increased at each time of hydration; but it remained stable over time for blood-contaminated samples. BD had higher bond strength than MTA-A in all periods of hydration. Cohesive failure predominated. Only for MTA-A, the over time bond strength to dentin was affected by blood contamination. Resumo Este estudo investigou o efeito da contaminação sanguínea na resistência de união do BiodentineTM (BD) e do MTA Angelus® (MTA-A) à dentina, em diferentes períodos. Vinte e cinco dentes foram seccionados para obter 120 fatias de dentina. Os lúmens das fatias foram preenchidos com MTA-A ou BD: 60 para cada cimento (30 não-contaminados e 30 contaminados com sangue). A resistência de união à dentina foi medida por teste push-out em 24 horas (n=10), 7 dias (n=10) e 28 dias (n=10). Os tipos de falha foram classificados como: falha coesiva, adesiva ou mista. Two-way ANOVA foi usado para investigar a interação entre contaminação sanguínea vs. período de hidratação. O teste de Mann Whitney comparou os diferentes materiais em cada período, e comparou as amostras contaminadas e não contaminadas de cada material em cada tempo. O teste de Friedman, seguido pelo teste de Dunn, comparou os períodos de hidratação de cada material, independentemente da contaminação. A análise estatística mostrou a interação entre contaminação sanguínea vs. período de hidratação. Os tipos de falha foram reportados de maneira descritiva. A interação entre contaminação sanguínea vs. período de hidratação foi altamente significativa para o MTA-A (P=0,001), e não foi significativa para o BD (P=0,474). Não houve diferenças entre a resistência de união entre o BD contaminado e não-contaminado independente do período. A resistência de união do MTA-A não-contaminado aumentou a cada tempo de hidratação; mas, permaneceu estável ao longo do tempo para as amostras contaminadas com sangue. BD obteve maior resistência de união que o MTA-A em todos os períodos de hidratação. Falhas coesivas predominaram. A contaminação ao longo do tempo influenciou a resistência de união no grupo MTA-A.

Elderly residents of long-term care facilities (LTC) have difficulty accessing dental services. Aiming to improve access for this population, the Geriatric Dental Program (GDP) was established by UBC Faculty of Dentistry in 2002. Within the GDP, elderly people receive fee-for-service dental care. The objective of this research was to explore whether accessing these services had an impact on the lives of the patients' relatives. Data was collected through semi-structured, face-to-face, audio-recorded interviews with family members of 12 GDP patients. A criterion sampling method was used to select the interviewed family. Interview transcription and data coding procedures were conducted following Saldaña. NVivo software was used to code and organize the transcripts. Data analysis followed a qualitative thematic analysis. Final analysis shows that patient relatives are worried about their relatives' oral health. They believe that it is difficult to find private dentists with geriatric expertise and to make appointments for their family members in private practice. In addition, they report that the GDP made their life less stressful and relieved the burden of setting up appointments for their relatives. Thus, it is expected that a similar program may positively affect the lives of patient relatives by improving access to dental care services.

Dentists, just like teachers, when moving from school to the workplace (dental offices and classrooms respectively), may find it difficult to apply theories learned during formal education to the complexities of the workplace environment. These difficulties constitute a critical issue for dental education in the area of ethics. In teacher education, the knowledge teachers develop for dealing with the situations they encounter in the classroom is called teachers' practical knowledge. In this study, I discuss the concept of teachers' practical knowledge within the context of dentistry, focusing on the ethical dimensions of dentistry practice, arguing for a dentists' ethical practical knowledge. In this sense, I articulate the similarities between teachers' practical knowledge and its equivalent in dental education, suggesting alternatives for dental education that could foster the development of dentists' ethical practical knowledge.