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Background: Despite the major developments in the vaccination, world health organization due to sudden rise in vaccine-preventable diseases has identified vaccine hesitancy as a major threat. Vaccine hesitancy gets stimulated by the health-related information acquired from various sources, hence is a major problem for health care authorities. Objectives: The main objective of the study was to assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors along with the attitude towards these vaccines by the public of Pakistan. Method: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from Jan -March 2022 in Pakistan. The survey from the current study was adopted from a previously conducted research. Male and female participants over the age of 18 were included for the current survey. Participants who declined to participate and providing incomplete details were excluded from the study. Institutional ethical approval for the research was obtained. Chi square test was conducted to assess association between the variable while descriptive statistics were used in form of frequencies. Results: From a total of 1194 participants, there were 232 (19.4%) males and 962 (80.6%) females. When enquired regarding finding vaccines to be safe, 69% of females and 75% of the males both agreed. In response to finding single dose of vaccine better than the multiple dose most of the females (38.5%) and males (47.4%) disagreed. Likewise, majority of females (81%) and males (84.5%) agreed that immunisation will protect against corona virus. In response to pharmaceutical companies being able to develop efficient COVID-19 vaccine, majority of the study participants agreed. When enquired about getting worried on hearing news of side effects, 61% females and 56% males stated not getting worried. Conclusion: An efficient and safe vaccine against COVID-19 is a vital factor in managing and bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, wide acceptability of the vaccine is necessary. Public health policy developers must address the wide misinformation spreading regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, government should aim to disseminate adequate information about the efficacy and safety of vaccine that will increase the trust of general public on government and will be beneficial in future. Keywords: Vaccine, acceptance, concern, Pakistan, Corona virus

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Missed root/canal is one of the main causes of endodontic failure. Permanent mandibular canine is considered to be a single rooted tooth. The complex pattern of root canal system poses difficulty in the root canal treatment and the prognosis becomes uncertain if the debridement and obturation of the root canals is not satisfactory therefore our objective of the study is to assess frequency of two roots in permanent mandibular canine of Pakistani population using CBCT scan. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive; retrospective study was planned by using Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) images of the past 02 year, i.e. December 2017 till November 2018. Images were assessed for the number of roots in permanent mandibular canines using software NNTVIEWER NewTOM. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: 134 permanent mandibular canines of 67 patients were studied. 64.2% of the images were of male patients while 35.8% were of females. Mean age of the patients was 48.12 ± 15.92 years. 7 (5.22%) out of 134 canines had two roots. 4 patients (5.97%) had canines with 2 roots of which 3 patients (4.48%) had bilateral two-rooted canines and 1 patient (1.49%) had unilateral two-rooted canines. Frequency of two roots in mandibular canines had no association with gender (p= 0.127). CONCLUSION: All mandibular permanent canines were single rooted but 5.2% of the permanent mandibular canines had two roots.

Background Regardless of attaining adequate knowledge regarding oral hygiene, physical activity, and healthy eating habits, dental students still face oral health problems. This study was aimed to assess the association of oral hygiene habits, physical activity, and eating habits with the BMI in the dental students. Method This multi centric cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2021 in Pakistan. Three hundred and eighty-six study participants enrolled as undergraduate dental students, both males and females, were included in the study. A questionnaire used to gather data, was modified from a study conducted by Jouhar et al. Chi-square testing was used in order to assess the relationship between two categorical variables. Linear regression was performed to assess the association with putative confounders. Statistical significance was considered for p value Results Regarding brushing teeth, 57% of the underweight individuals brushed once daily, 69.8% of the healthy, 79.2% of overweight, and 48% of obese participants brushed twice. Horizontal brushing technique was performed by 50% of the underweight participants, followed by scrub technique. A soft bristled brush was frequently used by underweight (42.9%) and healthy (66%) individuals, while a medium textured bristle brush was used by overweight (62.3%) and obese (54.2%) participants. Majority of the underweight (64.3%), overweight (48.1%), and 45.8% of obese individuals had meals thrice a day, while healthy (62.3%) individuals had meals twice a day. Conclusion This study further intensified the contributing role of having an excessive dietary intake and sugar consumption in causing obesity and dental caries. Findings from the current study, identify a statistically significant relationship that exists between BMI levels with oral hygiene, eating habits and the physical activity.

To identify and empirically investigate the leadership competencies in medical and dental healthcare professionals in Pakistan. A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study with a survey was used to identify the perceived leadership competencies in medical and dental healthcare professionals in Pakistan. 142 medical and dental faculty members and clinicians were selected from four medical and dental colleges and hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad and each participated in an in-person survey. The participants were educators and physicians who held academic positions in medical and dental education. A total of 142 completed the survey out of which 88 (62%) were women and 54 (38%) were men. Mean age of women was 38 years and mean age of men was 42 years. A 63-item survey measuring leadership competencies developed by Fadil Citaku, et al. [1], was administered in person to all participants. The five features recognized as leadership proficiencies required for healthcare professions were (1) social responsibility, (2) innovation, (3) self-management, (4) task management and (5) leading others. Cronbach’s alpha values of all domains were above 0.7, indicating scale was reliable and items were stable and internally consistent. Cronbach alpha of the entire questionnaire was 0.961. The means of the Likert score for all the five major variables (scales) were between 3.57 (honesty and integrity) and 4.30 (personal decision quality). The results of Principal component analysis done on the questionnaire data yielded five competencies of leadership including task management, social responsibility, innovation, self-management, and leading others with high coherence and internal consistency. These identified leadership skills are considered important by all doctors, dentists, males, females, assistant professors and professors alike.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is associated with various systemic conditions and contributes to a huge financial burden to economies around the world. AIM: The study aimed to evaluate global data about the prevalence of tobacco use among male and female adolescents and to discuss smoking-related oral complications. METHODS: The prevalence data of tobacco use among adolescents (13-15 years) was retrieved from the World Health Organization (Global Health Observatory). The World Bank’s statistics about gross national income (GNI) per capita were used to categorise low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income countries. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases were searched to gather updated evidence about the adverse consequences of smoking on oral health among adolescents. RESULTS: The prevalence of tobacco use was 19.33%, and there were 23.29% of male and 15.35% female smoker adolescents in 133 countries (p < 0.001). The highest prevalence of tobacco use in male (24.76%) and female (19.4) adolescents was found in high-income countries. Significantly higher proportions of male adolescents were smokers than female counterparts in low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income (p < 0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences in tobacco use between male and female adolescents in high-income countries. Low-income countries had the lowest prevalence (14.95%) of tobacco use, while high-income countries had the highest prevalence estimates (22.08). Gingivitis (72.8%), gingival bleeding (51.2%), oral malodor or halitosis (39.6%) is common oral conditions among smoker adolescents. Smoking habit is significantly associated with dental caries, periodontal disease, hairy tongue, smoking-related melanosis, and hyperkeratosis among adolescents. CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of tobacco use among male and female adolescents around the globe. Available evidence suggests a strong association between smoking and compromised oral health among adolescents. Globally, measures should be taken to prevent and control the menace of tobacco use to reduce systemic and oral complications.