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Purpose: We investigated the confidence levels of undergraduate dental students who used dental anesthesia simulators and patient reports of undergraduate dental students' confidence levels in delivering anesthesia injections, in comparison with undergraduate dental students who did not use dental anesthesia simulators. We also investigated application success rates.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the dental anesthesia simulator laboratory and in the faculty clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry of Ankara University. One-hundred volunteer undergraduate dental students who had completed the third year of the 5-year undergraduate education program and who had not performed local anesthesia on a patient participated in the study. Seventy and 30 undergraduate dental students did and did not receive training on dental anesthesia simulators, respectively, before performing procedures on patients. Using a questionnaire, undergraduate dental students conducted a self-assessment of preparedness and confidence, educators assessed the application success rates, and patients evaluated the undergraduate dental students' confidence levels.Results: Patients reported that the undergraduate dental students trained using the simulators were more confident. The self-reported confidence and success rates in providing anesthesia did not differ significantly as per the use of dental anesthesia simulators.Conclusions: Although use of simulators did not enhance self-reported confidence, patients reported that undergraduate dental students who used the simulators were more confident and reassuring. Use of simulators did not increase the undergraduate dental students' self-reported confidence or preparedness. However, we recommend using such simulators to overcome the ethical and moral issues associated with other teaching methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We hypothesized that lavender oil inhalation, before orthognathic surgery, would have an anxiolytic effect on patients.Materials and Methods: We executed a single-blinded, randomized, prospective study. The study comprised 90 patients (43 men and 47 women) scheduled to undergo orthognathic surgery (bilateral sagittal split, Le Fort I, and bimaxillary osteotomies). The patients were exposed to different concentrations of lavender oil diffusions in 120 mL of water during a 1-hour period before surgery (group 1, 0.1-mL oil diffusion; group 2, 0.3-mL oil diffusion; and group 3, no oil). The predictor variable was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI-2 was used to assess trait anxiety scores, and the STAI-1 was used to assess state anxiety scores at the time of admittance (STAI-1-A) and after 1 hour, before operating room transfer (STAI-1-OR). We performed a χ2 analysis for categorical variables, 1-way analysis of variance for continuous variables, and paired-samples t test for patients' state and trait anxiety levels. The P value was set at .05.Results: No significant differences were found between groups concerning gender, age, working status, educational background, and surgical operation to be performed. When the demographic data and STAI scores were compared, the STAI-2 scores of patients in group 3 aged between 18 and 30 years and high school graduates were significantly higher. The mean trait anxiety scores were significantly higher in group 2 than in group 1. The STAI-1-OR scores in all 3 groups were significantly higher than the STAI-1-A scores. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the groups.Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that 1 hour of presurgical inhalation of 0.1-mL and 0.3-mL lavender oil diffusions in 120 mL of water did not have an anxiolytic effect on patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. Future studies will focus on different concentrations, different inhalation times, and higher study samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]