Search

Introduction/Aim. The interest in oral health quality and the tendency to evaluate, provide, improve and compare it, are constantly improving. The main aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of health education programme to change habits, attitudes and behaviours of dental students. Methods. The research was conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry in Pančevo. The first stage was related to the survey, the measurement of oral health status and the implementation of targeted health education. The second stage was conducted after the health education intervention, as a survey of attitudinal and behavioural changes and clinical measurement of oral health change. The sample consisted of 65 first-year and 54 fourth-year students, a total of 119 students. The following were defined as research instruments: the research record, questionnaires [the original questionnaire, Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) questionnaire] and health education intervention for modelling factors that determine attitudes and behaviours related to oral health. The Decayed-missing-filled (DMF) index was used to evaluate oral health and hard dental tissue conditions. Results. At the beginning of the research we asked the students: “Do you think your mouth and teeth condition is good?” Contrary to our expectations, 15.4% of the first-year students and 37% of the fourth-year students did not know the answer, or thought they had a problem. 80% of the first-year and 85.2% of the fourth-year students had positive attitude about the statement that once in six months they should go to the dentist for a check-up. 7.7% of the first-year students did not remember the last time they had visited a dentist. The implemented health education intervention led, to some ex-tent, to changes in habits, attitudes and behaviours of students related to oral health. Conclusions. Students of dental medicine do not have sufficiently clear attitudes and safe behaviour regarding oral health. Targeted health education intervention represents the method of choice to take care of one’s own health.

Background/Aim. There is limited published evidence on the cytotoxicity of 3D printed polymer materials for dentistry applications, despite that they are now being widely used in medicine. Stereolithography (SLA) is one of the foremost 3D processes used in 3D printing, yet there are only a small number of resin materials reported to be suitable for medical applications. The aim of this study was to investigate, in vitro, the cytotoxic effect of the 3D printed resin in order to establish the suitability for its usage in dentistry and related medical applications such as surgical dental guides, occlusal splits and orthodontic devices. Methods. To examine the cytotoxicity of the 3D printed polymer-based epoxy resin, Accura® ClearVue™ (3D-Systems, USA), two cell cultures were used: mouse fibroblasts L929 and human lung fibroblasts MRC-5. Cell viability was determined by Mosmann's colorimetric (MTT) test and the agar diffusion test (ADT). Results. Direct contact of the tested material with ADT test showed nontoxic effects of tested material in any cell culture. The tested material showed no cytotoxic effect after 3 days of extraction of the eluate by MTT test, but mild cytotoxic effect after 5, 7 and 21 days on both cell lines. The cytotoxicity increased with increasing the time of the eluate extraction. Conclusion. 3D printed polymer-based epoxy resin, Accura® ClearVue™ (3D-Systems, USA) is considered appropriate for making surgical dental implant guides according to the cytotoxic behavior. According to the mild level of cytotoxicity after the longer extraction periods, there is a need for further evaluation of biocompatibility for its application for occlusal splints and orthodontic devices. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 35020: Research and development of modeling methods and approaches in manufacturing of dental recoveries with the application of modern technologies and computer aided systems]

Background/Aim. Dental status and oral hygiene habits are poor in young population living in deprived socioeconomic conditions. The aim of this research was to ascertain oral hygiene habits in adolescents attending high schools in urban area, determine the incidence of tooth loss at the age of 15–16 years and the gender difference. Methods. The epidemiological cross-sectional study included 234 randomly selected high school students. The research instruments were questionnaire (focusing on socio-demographic characteristics, habits, attitudes and behavior related to general and oral health) and clinical examination (tooth loss, normative need for prosthodontics restorations and presence of restorations). Results. Gender-related data comparison revealed that 32.5% of girls and 8.1% of boys had at least one tooth extracted (p < 0.05). Also, 56.2% of girls and 75.7% of boys brushed their teeth twice a day. Caries complications were identified as the indication for tooth extraction in 82.8% of participants. The data analysis confirmed the correlation between gender and tooth loss as well as treatment needs. Tooth loss was correlated with oral hygiene habits and reasons for dental visits. Treatment need was also affected by the reasons for tooth extraction and the absence of adequate prosthodontics therapy (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Sociodemographic conditions significantly influenced the number of participants with extracted teeth. A prosthodontic treatment need was influenced by the reasons for tooth extraction, adolescents’ knowledge about the importance of adequate treatment and previous unpleasant experience.