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Background: The aim of orthodontic treatment, apart from esthetic and functional corrections, is uniform force distribution. Hence Occlusal analysis using a T scan gives scope for a precisely targeted treatment plan. The T-scan evaluation of occlusal force, time, and location of contacts from initial occlusal contact to maximum intercuspation enables the orthodontist to sequentially balance the occlusal forces on the right and left sides through specific treatment plan options. Objective: The current study aimed to determine the force distribution in the different individuals by using a T-Scan as well as the net discrepancies of forces generated at a maximum intercuspation position in the first molar region between the left and right sides of the mouth. Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study that was carried out in Ras Al Khaimah College of Dental Sciences clinics and Ajman University clinics from January 2020 to September 2022 by using the convenience sampling technique. The T-scan III Novus was employed in this investigation to record multi-bite scans for several patients. T-scan was utilised to examine various malocclusions. Results: The present study consisted of 158 participants. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the percentage of force between the three types of malocclusions (I, II, and III) on the right molar side (B-16 and B-46) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the overall discrepancy showed a statistically significant difference in the three types of malocclusion classifications (p < 0.05). On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentage of force between B-26 and B-36 (p > 0.05). Post hoc analysis showed a statistically significant difference in the percentage of force between malocclusion classes I and III on the right molar, with a mean difference of 4.11190 (p < 0.05). Similarly, there was a statistically significant difference in B-46 between Malocclusion Classes I and II, 4.01806 (p < 0.05). Additionally, post hoc analysis showed a statistically significant difference between malocclusion classes I and III, with a mean difference of -4.79841 (p < 0.05) on the right molar. Conclusion: The T-Scan is a useful tool for assessing occlusal discrepancies and can be helpful during treatment planning and follow-up, especially for orthognathic surgery patients. A T-scan could be used in orthodontic therapy in a simple and efficient way. Also, it turned out to be a useful tool for diagnosing problems and gave us new information about how therapies work. In this study, T-Scan showed that it can measure occlusal forces in timing in an objective, accurate, and repeated manner. The current study found that T-Scan was better able to report the difference in the percentage of force on the right molar side than on the left side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The zygomatic complex is the second most common fracture of the facial bones after the nasal bone. The prominent convex shape of the zygoma makes it vulnerable to traumatic injury. Diplopia is one of the serious complications of zygomatic complex fracture and is a common subjective complaint. Objective. To determine the frequency of diplopia in zygomatic complex fractures. Methodology. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Ward, Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. The duration of the study was 1 year (March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022). A total of 126 patients having zygomatic complex fractures were included in this study. After recording the patient's complete history, like demographic details and cause for fracture, diplopia was examined clinically. If, during the examination, the patient complained of double vision, this was labeled as diplopia positive (Yes) and negative (No) if the patient did not have any such complain. Data were statistically analyzed. Results. The mean (±SD) age of patients was 33.42 (±9.27), with 91 (72.2%) male patients and 35 (27.8%) female patients. The frequency of diplopia in zygomatic complex fractures was observed in 52 (41.3%) patients. The rate of diplopia was significantly high in patients aged between 31 and 40 years (P-value = 0.0005). Conclusion. The frequency of diplopia among patients having zygomatic complex fractures was high in this study. Thus, forming a strategy to properly diagnose and treat it and to prevent persistent morbidity to improve patient's quality of life is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Modern medical education has flourished with an emergent interest in a variety of assessment approaches that entails direct observation of performance and provision of feedback. Workplace-based assessment (WPBA) has been embraced into specialty training in the United Kingdom (UK) within National Health Service (NHS). In Pakistan, this educational framework is incorporated to gauge the clinical proficiency of trainees at the postgraduate and undergraduate levels. The present study was done to identify how WPBA is perceived by dental field postgraduate trainees in Pakistan. OBJECTIVE: The study explored and ascertained trainees' perceptions, attitudes, and preferences considering their experiences with the systematic organization and execution of WPBA in dental educational settings. METHODS: This cross-sectional study design involved the clinical trainees of various cadres in a tertiary care hospital in Multan. A structured and validated questionnaire previously used for another analysis was administered among 90 trainees at the institute. The results were analyzed and tabulated using SPSS-21. Influential statistics (Pearson's Chi-Square Test) was performed and the confidence interval was set at 95% (P≤0.05). RESULTS: The response rate was 88%. Opinions were more positive compared to the former surveys. The majority of the respondents (65.8%) have shown a positive attitude towards WPBA and preferred it to be a valuable assessment system as it fosters reflective practices in educational settings. In addition, it was shown that WPBA has the potential to improve clinical training (72.2%) and aid in the effective implementation of clinical practice (68.4%). As the system of digital education has been introduced ever since the pandemic, the highest percentage of participants (56%) preferred a combination of on-paper and online assessment systems. CONCLUSION: The study reported that WPBA proposes the opportunity to associate teaching, learning, and assessment. The faculty training program is a significant input to upholding the quality of WPBA. Empirical research on WPBA is essential to be carried out to overcome the inadequacies thus endorsing its application universally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data on how lifestyle factors of school-going children affect their oral health are not sufficient; therefore, there is a need to analyze the adverse effects of poor lifestyle habits and the role of mothers' education on oral health. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors with the oral health status of school-going children through a structured questionnaire and oral examination. Ninety-five (26.5%) children were from class 1. One hundred eighty-seven (52.1%) mothers were educated while 172 (47.9%) were uneducated. Two hundred seventy-six (76.9%) children had never visited the dentist. The results indicate that dental health behavior is associated with lifestyle factors as well as socio-demographic variables. Parent education and awareness regarding oral health plays a major role in determining the oral health of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients' decisions regarding orthodontic treatment are influenced by a variety of factors, such as their subjective opinions of how their oral cavity looks, age, gender, educational level, and income. The present study aimed to measure the orthodontic treatments needs for the Saudi Arabian population, and also to report potential barriers towards it. It is an observational study with cross sectional design. Data was collected from nationals and residents living in Saudi Arabia and who are at least 18 years old. A total of 1184 adult patients (880 females and 304 males) were included in this study. The population for the study was reached and chosen using a non-probability snowball sampling method. A validated and reliable questionnaire was distributed to the participants electronically through google form. Inferential statistics was applied using Pearson Chi Square test. p value < 0.05 was considered significant. The majority of the sample (73.2%) exhibited a favorable attitude toward orthodontic treatment. Most participants including male and female gender wanted orthodontic treatment primarily to have their protruding teeth fixed. The proportion of persons who cited chewing difficulty as the reason they needed orthodontic treatment was strongly influenced by the monthly income variable (p = 0.005). Cost and time of orthodontic therapy were the biggest obstacles to undergoing treatment, accounting for 34.5% and 19.5%, respectively. There was highly significant difference between the underlying medical conditions and the age and monthly income variables (p = 0.000). Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that protruding teeth are the most important treatment needs perceived by the Saudi population, followed by spacing in between teeth, crowding of teeth, and unaesthetic smile. Cost of the orthodontic treatment was identified as the most significant barrier to the treatment needs, followed by long duration of orthodontic treatment, and pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Teledentistry is considered to be a technological advancement in providing dental care to patients while effectively addressing the time management. Furthermore, the pandemic of COVID-19 has been here for quite long now, forcing the dental practitioners to ponder upon other methods of healthcare delivery apart from the traditional in-office direct clinical examination. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of dental professionals of Malaysia regarding teledentistry, which can act as a future pedestal for improvements in virtual dental practice and patient care. Materials and Methods. It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study involving an electronic survey of a sample of dental professionals of Malaysia. A prevalidated, 26-item, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire was used in assessing the perceptions of dental professionals regarding teledentistry in four domains: existing concerns about teledentistry use, the potential of teledentistry in improving practice, usefulness of teledentistry for dental practice, and its usefulness for patients. Statistical analyses involved descriptive statistics which included frequency distributions. Results. An overall response rate of 31.0% was observed with 310 dental practitioners participating in the survey. More than 60% of respondents agreed that teledentistry would benefit the dental practice through enhancement of communication with peers, guidance, and new patients' referral. However, a substantial proportion of practitioners (70-80%) expressed uncertainty with accuracy of diagnosis, technical reliability, and privacy. Conclusion. Generally, the results of this study point towards the readiness of dental professionals of Malaysia to engage in teledentistry practice. However, further work needs to be done to assess the commercial feasibility of teledentistry, not only in Malaysia but also in other parts of the world. To start with, directed campaigns in reference to teledentistry are necessary to educate dentists and the public about the technology and its potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has immensely affected the world's population at physical and psychosocial levels. Dentists are no different from other healthcare providers, as they are equally if not more exposed to the threat of getting infected. OBJECTIVE: To assess the experience and behavior of public and private sector dentists practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic and their knowledge about it. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted online by sharing google forms through email, WhatsApp, and Facebook. The survey included questions on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of dentists practicing during COVID-19. The data was interpreted by SPSS 24 using a chi-square test, and a value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A considerable number of general dentists (26.9%) and specialists (39.4%) adopted partial suspension of clinics. Restriction's ease allowed 50.2% of the clinicians to resume their duties. 67.9% of the patients were medicated online during the lockdown phase. There was no significant difference regarding years of experience and willingness to treat/care (p-value 0.648). Personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available for use in public or private practices, and the respondents agreed with its efficacy in protecting the operators. Compliance with PPE wear was 50% in all the respondents. CONCLUSION: The psychosocial repercussion of the pandemic continues to affect dental practices. Our attitude needs to improve as far as PPE is concerned, with regular training workshops and continuous updates of the developing Knowledge on COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Individuals might suffer emotional, psychological, and even bodily challenges as a result of any pandemic. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Saudi Arabian University students and faculty members has received little attention. OBJECTIVE: To assess stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among university college students and faculty members of Jouf University, KSA and evaluate the impact of socio- demographic factors on anxiety and depression levels. METHODS: Two hundred and seventeen participants from Jouf University completed an anonymous web-based survey that includes questionnaires about anxiety and depression symptoms. Beck's anxiety inventory (BAI) was used to assess the anxiety levels, and Beck's depression inventory (BDI) was used to determine the depression levels due to COVID 19 pandemic. The research was carried out between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020. An ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to explain the odds of observing anxiety and depression. RESULTS: For "moderate anxiety" (22–35), the most frequently observed category of age, nationality, gender, duration spent in lockdown and profession was 20–30 years (n = 15, 65%), Saudis (n = 14, 61%), female (n = 15, 65%),>3 months (n = 17, 74%), and students (n = 15, 65%) respectively. For "moderate depression" (21–30), the most frequently observed category of age, nationality, gender, duration spent in lockdown and profession was 20–30 years (n = 10, 50%), Saudi (n = 15, 65%), female (n = 26, 65%).>3 months (n = 13, 65%), and both students and faculty members, each with an observed frequency of 10 (50%) respectively. Ordinal logistic regression analysis suggested that the observed effects of nationality, gender, and duration spent in lockdown period influenced the anxiety levels among participants. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of the lockdown duration was more significant in students than in faculty members and females than in males. Authors recommend the critical need for intervention and prevention strategies to address college students' mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have a negative impact on quality of life, and dentists are at risk of WMSDs due to the nature of work being static, repetitious, and for a long duration. The study was aimed at measuring the prevalence and distribution of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and determining the risk factors associated with affliction among Pakistani dentists. Methods. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted using a validated questionnaire consisting of four sections. The first section had questions related to sociodemographic information, the second section had questions that assessed the intensity and frequency of musculoskeletal pain (MSP), third section questions were concerned with the effect of MSP on the respondents' daily life, while the last section contained questions on whether they perceived their work in the dental clinic as a cause of their pain. Chi-square and one-way ANOVA tests were used for the analysis of the data in SPSS-23. Results. A total of 600 completely filled questionnaires were received with a response rate of 76.4%, and about 87% of the dental practitioners had some sort of MSD. The intensity and frequency of WMSDs were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in association with all the sociodemographic characteristics. The lower back area was the most reported site of WMSD pain (51.3%) followed by the neck/upper back (21.3%) and shoulder (17.6%). The site of pain was statistically significant (p < 0.05) in association with all the sociodemographic characteristics except gender (p = 0.11). A majority of participants (95.4%) had sought medical treatment and taken sick leaves (70%) due to WMSDs pain during their life. Participants attributed a number of working years and working posture as the two main reasons behind WMSDs. Conclusion. Considering the high prevalence of WMSDs among dentists, preventive strategies that minimize the occurrence of WMSDs should be adopted by dental professionals. The impact of WMSDs can be reduced by maintaining good posture, taking breaks and rest in between work, doing regular exercise, and improving the work environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Dental students have been identified as having a high level of stress. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression among undergraduate dental students of university of Hail and to determine the association of anxiety and depression in terms of gender and respective year of study. METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Nonprobability sampling technique was used to assess the prevalence and association of anxiety and depression among male and female dental students of preclinical and clinical years of College of Dentistry, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia. Students were contacted personally, explained the purpose of the study and asked to participate in the study. Students were asked to complete both Beck's depression inventory and Beck's anxiety inventory to assess the level of their respective status. RESULTS: The results of the survey revealed that a greater number of females suffered from 'moderate' level of anxiety (12.3%) as compared to males (3.2%). Additionally, the percentage for females to experience 'borderline' (11.6%) and 'moderate' (9.7%) level of depression was higher than their male counterparts –'borderline' (7.7%) and 'moderate' (2.6%). The level of anxiety and depression compared with genders was found to be statistically significant. It was noted that final year students (8.4%) experienced 'moderate' level of anxiety and there was a peak rise in level of depression among 4th year (6.5%) and 6th year (5.8%) students as compared with other years. CONCLUSION: The finding of the study emphasizes that the overall percentage of level of depression is comparatively higher than level of anxiety among dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students have unique preferences when it comes to knowledge acquisition, information processing, retention in memory, and recall. This study is aimed at examining the preferred learning styles of medical and dental undergraduate students of Pakistan. It is also aimed at investigating the influence of gender, preclinical or clinical academic year, and academic record on the preferred learning style. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Pakistan. The learning styles of undergraduate students were identified using visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Students were also asked about their satisfaction towards teaching style of their teachers in institute. Descriptive statistics were done to characterize the learning styles of the students. The Fisher test and chi-square test were used to compare the learning preferences between genders and public/private sector students and among preclinical/clinical years. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. A total of 1473 students participated in the study. Among the students, 39.37% preferred unimodal learning style whereas 60.62% preferred multimodal style. Kinesthetic (K) and visual (V) were the most preferred unimodal styles. The preferred learning styles of female students are aural (A), visual (V), and kinesthetic (K), whereas male students preferred visual (V) and kinesthetic more (K). Students with lower academic record chose unimodal styles in comparison to high achievers that chose multimodal styles. Students of clinical year preferred multimodal and quadmodal styles in comparison to preclinical year students. An alarming 78% of students were dissatisfied with their teacher's instructional style. Majority of students prefer multimodal learning styles over unimodal style. Gender, public/private sector, and academic record have influence on the preference of learning styles. Majority of the students are dissatisfied with their teacher's instructional style and rely on social media platforms for understanding. Academics need to adapt their teaching methods according to student preferences in order to get better graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Due to an unavailability of a vaccine, one of the efficient methods to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is by applying self-isolation (SI). Hence there is an urgent need to investigate the factors leading to an individuals' willingness to choose to self-isolate. OBJECTIVES: The current study utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual model and aimed to investigate the extent to which subjective norms, personal attitudes and perceived control influences an individual's willingness to self-isolate during COVID-19 risk. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was performed on 800 Saudi respondents aged≥18 years by using a validated self-administered questionnaire about factors related to willingness to self-isolate during COVID-19 pandemic risk based on the TPB. The effects of different variables on SI were analyzed by using ordinal logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 756 (94.5%) were completed and analyzed. Subjective norms and perceived control over the behavior significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the intention of willingness to self-isolate, while attitude was found to be insignificant. The odds of letting others to know about self COVID status were 2.40 times higher than not telling the neighbors or colleagues. A statistically significant difference (p≤0.001) existed between males and females regarding the willingness to self-isolate. Similarly the odds of willingness to self-isolate with a presence of disabled person in family were 2.88 times higher than the absence of a disability in the family. Few recommendations for the policymakers that are needed to curb the spread of COVID-19 infection are also proposed. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of study might be considered as an initial understanding of the factors that significantly influences an individual's willingness to SI when facing an unprecedented pandemic risk. Additionally, these factors provide a plan for policymakers to encourage citizens for self-isolation during pandemic infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the correlation of periodontal parameters and bite force in different stages of periodontitis after phase I periodontal therapy. Methods. Periodontal clinical parameters such as mobility, attachment loss, gingival recession, and percentage of bone remaining were recorded at the mandibular first molar region after phase I therapy in subjects categorized according to the stage of periodontitis. Corresponding bite force was recorded at the first mandibular molar region using a bite force device after phase I therapy. ANOVA test was used to assess the significant difference among different groups. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between measured variables. Results. The ANOVA test represents that there is no statistical significant difference between the bite force in stage I, stage II, and stage III type of periodontitis. A strong positive correlation was found (r = 0.537) between bite force and percentage of remaining alveolar bone support whereas negative correlation was observed in measured parameters such as mobility (r = − 0.0181), attachment loss (r = − 0.608), and gingival recession (r = − 0.435). Conclusion. Among all periodontal clinical parameters, the percentage of remaining alveolar bone is the strong predictor of bite force and mobility; attachment loss and gingival recession cannot predict the bite force in the first molar region. Bite force is variable in different stages of periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Sleep apnoea is a diagnosed condition in which appurtenances interrupt breathing whilst sleeping. The consequence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) includes road traffic accidents due to drowsiness, systemic hypertension, heart disease, diabetes mellitus and neurocognitive disorders. This condition extends the duration of recovery phase after traumatic brain injury. OBJECTIVE: This study was intended to assess the knowledge and attitude towards OSA and compare it among dental and medical undergraduate students of University Sains Malaysia (USM). METHODS: In this study, a total of 216 clinical undergraduate students (36 from each year; 108 from medical and 108 from dental school) of University Sains Malaysia (USM) Health campus were recruited for the study by non-probability stratified random sampling method. Total study period was October 2017 to October 2018. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the sociodemographic status and OSAKA questionnaire was used to assess knowledge and attitude regarding sleep apnoea of the respondents. Descriptive analysis was carried out to assess the knowledge and attitude of OSA amongst dental and medical undergraduate students of USM. The Mann–Whitney U test was carried out to compare the knowledge and attitude of OSA amongst dental and medical undergraduate students of USM. RESULTS: Our study findings revealed that 0.9 %and 6.5 %of the dental undergraduate students and medical undergraduate students could answer all the questions correctly regarding knowledge of OSA. Based on the assessment of the difference between medical and dental students in terms of knowledge towards OSA patients, significant difference was observed at the significance level of 95%, where p < 0.05 but no difference found in attitude towards OSA. However, significant difference was found towards attitude on treating OSA patients p < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: A difference was observed in the knowledge and attitude on OSA between dental and medical undergraduate students in USM; however, medical undergraduate students had better knowledge and attitude towards OSA than dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are a broad category of conditions arising from the various components of the temporomandibular joint complex. Bio-psychosocial model is the most accepted theory describing the etiopathogenesis of TMD. Dental students are vulnerable to psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and stress. Hence, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence and possible risk factors of TMD among dental students of various academic levels and explore the association of TMDs with demographic, academic, and psychosocial parameters. Methods: A total of 246 students of a Saudi Arabia dental school were chosen for the study. After getting consent, all students were examined according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders, including Axis I and II components. Results: The overall cross-sectional prevalence of TMD was found to be 36.99%. Pain arising from the jaw, temple, and the peri-auricular area were the most commonly reported symptoms and elicited signs during examination. Among the pain-related TMD, myalgia was the commonest diagnosed condition, whereas disc displacement with reduction was found prevalent in the intra-articular disorder category. Female (OR = 1.94; P = 0.004), married (OR = 1.74; P = 0.04), and students in clinical academic levels (OR = 1.65; P = 0.03) were found to have significantly increased risk of TMD. Among the psychosocial parameters, anxiety (OR = 1.55; P = 0.04) and parafunctional behaviours (OR = 2.10; P < 0.001) were shown to increase the risk of developing TMD. Students with any TMD reported to have significantly higher pain intensity levels (OR = 1.68; P = 0.01) and jaw functional limitations (OR = 1.45; P = 0.008). Conclusion: Dental students, especially in clinical levels were shown to pose a higher risk of developing TMD, hence strategies such as academic counselling and objective evaluation via rubrics should be planned to modify the administration of the curriculum, training methods and evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study was focused on comparing and analyzing the soft tissue changes induced by Reverse Twin-Block (RTB) and Reverse Pull Face Mask (RPFM) in early and late mixed dentition Malay children having Class III malocclusion. Methods. This cross-sectional study includes a total sample of 95 Malay children of both early (8-9 years) and late (10-11 years) mixed dentition stages. The comparison was between 49 samples treated by RTB and 46 samples treated by RPFM. Both pre- and posttreatment changes were assessed with Holdaway's analysis using the CASSOS software. In each cephalogram, 71 anatomic landmarks were traced. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were performed for statistical evaluation. Results. Statistically significant changes were noticed in soft tissue facial angle, subnasale to H-line, skeletal profile convexity, upper lip strain, H-line angle, lower lip to H-line, and inferior sulcus to H-line measurements. Gender disparity was noticed in upper lip strain. Other significant changes were influenced by the type of appliance. However, the mean differences were minute to notice clinically. Age difference did not have any effect on the treatment changes. Conclusions. RPFM revealed treatment outcome with more protruded upper lip than RTB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has shown a catastrophic effect on mankind. The allied healthcare professionals (AHPs) play a pivotal role against COVID-19. OBJECTIVES: To appraise the knowledge and attitude about COVID-19 of AHPs working across Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using Qualtrics software to gather data from all five regions of Saudi Arabia during the nationwide lockdown in April 2020. Complete responses of 195 AHPs were considered for analysis. The questionnaire consisted of 15 and 14 questions on knowledge and attitude, respectively. The overall scores of each domain were calculated and modified Bloom's criterion was applied to categorize them into a three-point ordinal scale. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test along with multivariate logistic regression for significant parameters. RESULTS: The AHPs displayed a moderate level of knowledge (58.2%) and a good level of attitude (80%). The AHPs were found to have a non-significant (P > 0.05) difference in the level of knowledge within age, gender, region, occupation, educational level, organizational setup and years of experience. The attitude of AHPs working in a private setup has shown a 2.8 times (P = 0.020) higher risk for having moderate/poor attitude compared to the AHPs working in a government organization. CONCLUSIONS: AHPs displayed a moderate level of knowledge and good attitude towards COVID-19. Emphasis should be given to continuous professional development in order to enhance their knowledge. Furthermore, strategies should be developed in the private sector to positively reinforce the attitude of AHPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this study are to evaluate the craniofacial morphometric measurements for Saudi Arabian adults in Jouf region using Ricketts analysis and comparing the findings with established Caucasian cephalometric norms. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional analytical study. The sample consisted of 160 lateral digital cephalometric radiographs collected from the orthodontic patients of College of Dentistry, Jouf University. The inclusion criteria were good quality cephalometric film, with visible landmark. The exclusion criteria were no acquired or pathological skeletal or dental deformities, no history of corrective orthodontic therapy, and patients of non-Saudi Arabian descent. Relevant cephalometric landmarks were determined and analysis was done using the SPSS software. The level of significance was tested using independent t-test with 95 percent confidence interval. A P-value of <0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: The descriptive statistics of all lateral cephalometric radiographs for 15 measurements were carried out on the entire sample size of 160 subjects. None of the parameters measured showed any significant differences between Saudi Arabian males and females. Three out of the eight skeletal variables were larger in females compared with males. Conclusion: The differences observed between the Saudi Arabian and Caucasian values are not statistically significant, indicating that within the limitations of this study, Caucasian standardized values are adequate in treating Saudi Arabian orthodontic patients. However, there are notable differences between Saudi Arabian males and females indicating sexual dimorphism. Further investigation may be needed which is outside the scope of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Academic advising is a central and essential element in the process of education that can help students unravel their academic problems and succeed in their academic and professional careers OBJECTIVES: To seek students' perception about academic advising and solicit suggestions to improve academic advising in our institute. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the students' satisfaction regarding academic advising guidance and to ascertain whether students' perceptions of academic advising differ by their demographic characteristics and academic years. METHODS: A forty-item questionnaire was hand delivered to all the undergraduate (UG) students of College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research questions focused on demographic information, advising assistance and guidance, satisfaction, and suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the present academic advising system. Data analysis is presented through tables and descriptive methods. RESULTS: The samples consisted of 98 males and 43 females. Overall, the respondents were positive about academic advising services they received from their respective advisors. Female students felt more positive than male students for all the statements on academic advising (p < 0.05). Additionally, our results indicate that as students climb the academic ladder, their rating of academic advising tends to rise. Strengths and weaknesses of academic advising are discussed here together with suggestions for improvements. CONCLUSION: The results of this questionnaire survey demonstrate the vital factors pertaining to the institutional academic advising services provided to the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Accidental occupational injuries increase the risk of communicable diseases like hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among dental personnel. Such occupational injuries affect healthcare quality by enhancing dissatisfaction and lack of motivation to work among dental personnel. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to assess knowledge and awareness regarding needle stick and sharp injury among dental personnel and compared the knowledge and awareness level about needle stick injuries between dental professionals and dental supporting staff working at the School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2016 to March 2017. The total sample included 112 registered dental personnel including dental professionals (lecturers, dental officers, and postgraduate students) and dental supportive staff (including staff nurses and dental surgery assistant) who were selected from the School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia at Kelantan District of Malaysia. Data were collected by a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: In our study 60.7% respondents answered correctly for all the statements regarding knowledge and 51.8% of the respondents answered correctly for the statements regarding awareness on needle stick and sharp injury. No significant difference of knowledge level has been observed between the dental professionals and dental supportive staff (p < 0.819), whereas the awareness level was significantly different between these two groups (p < 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: There is a difference regarding awareness level on needle stick and sharp injury between dental professionals and dental supportive staff in our study but no differences were found in knowledge level between two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess caries experience and its association with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. Material and Methods: A sample of 169 preschool children of 5-6-year-old at a private preschool in the district of Kota Bharu, Kelantan was participated and were subjected to an oral examination to determine their caries experience by a single calibrated dentist. The parents were responding to self-administered Malay-ECOHIS and their sociodemographic background. Descriptive, Chi-square test and Spearman correlation were done to analyse the data required in this study. Results: Subjects comprised of girls (55.6%) with most parents (39%) had a secondary level of education, and 47.9% of them had a monthly income of RM1000-RM2999. Caries prevalence was 74.6% with a mean (SD) dmft was 5.27(5.22). The impacts on OHRQoL were more prevalent in the family section of Malay-ECOHIS (12.5%; 95%CI: 7.5%-17.5%) than the child section (4.2%; 95%CI: 1.16%-7.24%). Items related to 'felt guilty' (22.5%; 95%CI: 16%-29%) and 'been upset' (20.2%; 95%CI: 14.1%-26.3%) were the frequently reported on the family impact section. In child impact section, the item related to 'pain' (36.7%; 95%CI: 30%-43%) and 'difficulty eating' (20.8%; 95%CI: 14.7%-26.9%) were reported more frequently. Children with caries experience were significantly associated with the impact on family OHRQoL (p<0.05). Conclusion: The presence of dental caries was a significant predictor of poor OHRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate caries spectrum in first permanent molars (FPMs) of 7- to 8-year-old children in Saudi Arabia using Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) index, and examine the correlation between distributions of CAST codes among contralateral and opposite arches. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 7- to 8-year-old Saudi school children in Sakaka, Aljouf, Saudi Arabia. A total of 385 children were examined. CAST codes were determined for FPMs, and their distribution was analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Statistical significance was set as p<0.05. Intra-examiner reliability was determined using the unweighted kappa coefficient. Results: The results indicated most of the FPMs were scored as code 3 (enamel lesions) such as upper contralateral FPM 44.40% for right, 53.50% for left, respectively, and lower contralateral molars were 61.30% for right and 64.90% for left, respectively. It was also observed that upper FPMs had scored code 0 (sound teeth) more than that of lower FPMs. Serious morbidity (codes 6 and 7) and mortality (code 8) showed a low prevalence in FPMs. Strong correlations were observed between upper contralateral FPMs (r=0.586) and lower contralateral FPMs (r=0.567, p<0.001). Conclusion: A high prevalence of enamel caries lesions (code 3) was observed in FPMs; in addition, a strong correlation was present between upper contralateral FPMs and between lower contralateral FPMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the dental caries experience and clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (UDC) among primary school children of Al Jouf region, Saudi Arabia and to determine the correlation between dental caries experience and clinical consequences of UDC. Material and Methods: A 250 primary school children 6-7 years were recruited using systematic random sampling. The prevalence of dental caries in deciduous dentition was assessed by following WHO criteria using the dmft index and the clinical consequence of UDC was assessed with the pufa index. The pufa score was calculated cumulatively following the pufa diagnostic criteria. The Student's t-test was used to equate the mean dmft and pufa scores between boys and girls. The correlation between the dmft and the pufa scores was evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), and the p-value was set at 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: Out of which 154 (61.60%) boys and 94 (37.60%) were girls. The mean (SD) values of dmft for boys reported to be 5.37 (± 3.31) and for girls 6.35 (± 3.27), which was statistically significant with gender (p<0.001). Statistically, significant mean values of pufa were 1.20 (± 1.37) in boys and 1.71 (± 1.58) in girls, respectively was observed (p<0.001). The Pearson correlation between dmft and pufa values showed a highly significant positive correlation among dmft and pufa values (r= 0.635, p<0.001). Conclusion: The present study revealed that high caries prevalence and experience of the clinical consequences of UDC in the primary dentition, and there was a strong positive correlation between dmft and pufa score values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the association of facial proportion and its relation to the golden ratio with the evaluation of facial appearance among Malaysian population. This was a cross-sectional study with 286 randomly selected from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus students (150 females and 136 males; 100 Malaysian Chinese, 100 Malaysian Malay and 86 Malaysian Indian), with the mean age of 21.54 ± 1.56 (Age range, 18–25). Facial indices obtained from direct facial measurements were used for the classification of facial shape into short, ideal and long. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess subjects’ evaluation of their own facial appearance. The mean facial indices of Malaysian Indian (MI), Malaysian Chinese (MC) and Malaysian Malay (MM) were 1.59 ± 0.19, 1.57 ± 0.25 and 1.54 ± 0.23 respectively. Only MC showed significant sexual dimorphism in facial index (P = 0.047; P<0.05) but no significant difference was found between races. Out of the 286 subjects, 49 (17.1%) were of ideal facial shape, 156 (54.5%) short and 81 (28.3%) long. The facial evaluation questionnaire showed that MC had the lowest satisfaction with mean score of 2.18 ± 0.97 for overall impression and 2.15 ± 1.04 for facial parts, compared to MM and MI, with mean score of 1.80 ± 0.97 and 1.64 ± 0.74 respectively for overall impression; 1.75 ± 0.95 and 1.70 ± 0.83 respectively for facial parts. In conclusion: 1) Only 17.1% of Malaysian facial proportion conformed to the golden ratio, with majority of the population having short face (54.5%); 2) Facial index did not depend significantly on races; 3) Significant sexual dimorphism was shown among Malaysian Chinese; 4) All three races are generally satisfied with their own facial appearance; 5) No significant association was found between golden ratio and facial evaluation score among Malaysian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among adolescents using the dental health component (DHC) of the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 (mean age 16.25 ± 1.09) adolescents randomly selected from the northern border region of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The northern border region is sub-divided into three governorates: Ar’ar (186), Rafha (142) and Turayf (172). The data were recorded in questionnaires to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and estimate of DHC of the IOTN index. Results: The most common malocclusions in order of prevalence were Angle’s Class I (52.8%), Angle’s Class II (31.8%), Angle’s Class III (15.4%), crowding (47.2%), excessive overjet (> 2 mm) (22.2%), reduced overjet (< 1 mm) (11.4%), excessive overbite (> 2 mm) (23.4%), reduced overbite (< 1 mm) (12.2%), anterior crossbite (4.8%), posterior crossbite (9.4%) and open bite (4.6%). The most common facial profiles determined in the sagittal plane, were the straight facial profile (49.2%), convex (42.6%) and concave (8.2%). The prevalence of Grade 1 and 2 DHC was 49.4%, Grade 3 was 29.6%, Grade 4 and 5 was 21%. The grades of DHC of IOTN index were as follows: 48.73% of males and 50.22% of females showed grades 1 and 2. Grade 3 was observed in 30.32% of males and 28.69% of females. Grades 4 and 5 were recorded in 20.93% of males and 21.07% of females. Conclusions: The prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need among the north border region of KSA is comparable with that of other regional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]