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Background: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease affects large segment of population worldwide. This study aimed at evaluate the relationship between oral health behaviors including the consumption of sugar/acid diet of both mothers and their children on the caries status of the children. The relationship between the caries status of mothers and children was also evaluated. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in rural villages near the capital of our country. The dentition status of 57 mother-child pairs was evaluated using World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for oral health surveys. Oral health behaviors and diet assessment of both mothers and children were investigated through WHO suggested questionnaires. Pearson and Spearman correlations, independent sample t-test, and linear regression analysis were used for the statistical analysis. The Significance level was set at 0.05. Results: Mean DMFT values were 16.6 and 1.6 for mothers and children, respectively, whereas children dmft mean value was 4.3. Children of mothers who consumed diet with high sugar and acid content had worse caries status (0.010≤P-value≤0.013). Caries status of children had weak correlation coefficients (0.2-0.4) with mothers' caries status though statistically significant (0.008≤P-value≤0.048). Linear regression analysis revealed statistically significant models (P<0.05) with R² values≤0.2. Conclusion: Although some oral health behaviors and sugar/acid-rich diet of both mothers and their children correlated with the caries status of the children, these correlations were generally weak to intermediate. The current study suggested that oral health behaviors enhancement of both mothers and children could be one of these activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the trabecular bone structure of jawbones and the dens (the odontoid process of the second cervical vertebra) amongst osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic women using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Analysis of the dens trabecular bone structure aimed to test the validity of CBCT in such analysis. Methods Thirty-eight women who went under dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examination were scanned by CBCT. Cuboids from different areas of jawbones and the dens were extracted from each scan. Trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.S), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), specific bone surface (BS/TV) and connectivity density were calculated. Student's t-test, Pearson correlation, and logistic regression analysis were used to explore differences in these measures between groups. Results Jawbone-derived measures showed insignificant differences ( P > 0.05) between osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic groups, and weak correlations with femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae T-scores ( r ≤ 0.4). Dens-derived measures, however, resulted in the opposite ( r = 0.34-0.38 [ P value = 0.02-0.036] and r = 0.48-0.61 [ P value ≤ 0.003]) and the highest accuracy of osteoporosis prediction: 84.2% and 78.9% respectively. Conclusion Trabecular bone structure of the mandible and maxilla is not affected in osteoporosis as assessed by CBCT. Dens trabecular bone analysis revealed the opposite, so some trabecular bone measures may be assessed by CBCT, which may aid in predicting osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with diagnostic X-ray radiation may result in serious health problems, unless protection guidelines are followed. This became prevalent immediately a decade following the invention of X-ray radiation, where it had not been known that the accumulative exposure to X-ray radiation may carry huge health hazards. The reoccurrence of various fatal cancer cases compelled the concerned health authorities to develop safety standards to be followed by all X-ray clinics and technicians worldwide. This report documents the clinical case of a dental radiographer, who developed thumbs carcinoma after 15 years of practicing the profession, most likely due to his neglect of the X-ray radiation protection guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Ageism represents an important barrier to high-quality healthcare for older adults. The present study sought to translate and validate the Arabic version of the Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS-Arabic)., Materials and Methods: The 27-item ASDS tool was translated from English into Arabic following recommended cross-sectional forward and backward translation guidelines. The translated version was subjected to the content validity ratio (CVR) and sent to dental students in 21 institutes from 10 different Arab countries. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to assess the dimensionality of the scale, and Cronbach's alpha was used to determine internal consistency reliability. The discriminant validity of the scale was assessed using the independent t-test. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was also undertaken., Results: Based on CVR, three items were removed. The 24-item Arabic version was completed by 3284 dental students. PCA and CFA retained 17 items in six components, explaining 50.3% of the total variance, with acceptable reliability, validity and discrimination. The first component "Adherence of older patients with dental treatment and instructions," included four items with a Cronbach α of 0.64 and scored 4.3 ± 0.8. The second component "Feasibility of the treatment plan," included three items with a Cronbach α of 0.66 and scored from 2.6 ± 1.2 to 2.9 ± 1.1. The third component "Cost of and responsibility for the dental treatment" included four items with a Cronbach α of 0.47 and scored 4.4 ± 0.8 to 4.5 ± 0.8. The fourth component "Medical history of older patients" included two items with a Cronbach α of 0.70 and scored 4.0 ± 1.0 to 4.1 ± 1.0. The fifth Component "Feeling towards older patients" included two items with a Cronbach α of 0.672 and scored 2.6 ± 1.2 to 2.0 ± 1.4. The sixth Component "Confidence and experience in treating older patients" included two items with a Cronbach α of 0.33 and scored 4.4 ± 1 to 4.6 ± 1., Conclusion: This preliminary validation of the ASDS-Ar resulted in a new 17-item scale with six components with acceptable validity, reliability and discrimination., (© 2024 Gerodontology Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: This in vitro study aimed to assess radiation dose and image quality of different low-dose multidetector CT (MDCT) and CBCT imaging protocols in comparison with the standard MDCT protocol for maxillary sinus imaging., Methods: Effective dose (E) and image quality of 10 MDCT (changing effective milliampere second starting from 141.3 EmAs to 20 EmAs) and 3 CBCT protocols (changing milliampere second and voxel size) were assessed throughout scanning an anthropomorphic head and neck Alderson Rando phantom. E values were calculated using thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLDs) fixed at 6 sensitive organs (14 sites) on the Rando phantom. Image quality was assessed objectively (by calculating the standard deviation values of the radiographic density of water) and subjectively (by assessing the diagnostic image quality using a four-graded scale: 1 = very good, 2 = good, 3 = acceptable and 4 = unacceptable)., Results: Two MDCT protocols (120 kV/32 EmA and 120 kV/25 EmA) had lower radiation doses with statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) compared with that of the standard MDCT protocol (120 kV/141.3 EmA), and they preserved a good diagnostic image quality. One CBCT protocol (120 kV/20 mA) had a reasonable radiation dose and good image quality. There were no statistically significant differences between the above-mentioned lower dose MDCT and CBCT protocols (p > 0.05) with respect to the radiation dose and image quality., Conclusions: The low-dose MDCT and CBCT protocols are viable methods for maxillary sinus examination as evaluated using the above-mentioned phantom that yield a good diagnostic image quality using E approximately 7 and 11 times lower than that of the standard MDCT, respectively. These findings were evaluated in the in vivo part of this project.

Background: Social media can be part of the formal education of health professsionals and in their lifelong learning activities. The effectiveness of Facebook, an online social medium, application for educational purposes was evaluated in this study. It was used to serve as a teaching medium of a course in medical emergencies in dental practice (MEDP)., Methods: Syrian dental students were invited to join a Facebook group "Medical emergencies in dental practice" during the second semester of the academic year 2013-2014. The group privacy settings were changed from an open group to a closed group after the registration period. Administrators of the group published 61 posts during the course period, which extended for one month. Students' progress in learning was evaluated using self-assessment questionnaires administered to the students before and after the course. These questionnaires also queried their opinions regarding the use of Facebook as an educational modality. Qualitative statistics, Wilcoxon signed ranks and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to analyze the data., Results: Out of 388 students registered in this course, 184 completed it. Two-third of students agreed that Facebook was useful in education. Their impressions of this course were 17.4% as excellent, 52.2% as very good. P values of the self-assessment questions of Wilcoxon signed ranks test were <0.001, indicating self-assessed improvement in MEDP skills., Discussion: Facebook as a social medium provides a unique learning environment. It allows students to discuss topics more openly in a flexible setting with less rigid time and place constraints. In the light of this study it was found that Facebook may be useful in teaching medical emergencies in dental practice in its theoretical aspect.