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Dental anxiety is a common problem encountered in dental clinics that affects both patients and dentists. Adequate management of dental anxiety is critical for optimal treatment outcomes for the patient. This study aims to assess the efficacy of two anxiety‐reduction techniques (iatrosedation and music listening) for dental crown preparation in adult patients. In this clinical trial, 60 patients were randomly assigned to three groups: Group 1, iatrosedation; Group 2, music listening; and Group 3, control. Patients in all three groups underwent dental crown preparation. To measure the anxiety levels of the patients, heart rate was calculated using a pulse oximeter, and verbal rating scale scores were assessed. One‐way analysis of variance, post hoc analysis, and Spearman's correlation were used to compare the mean values of the three groups. Significant differences were observed in the heart rate and verbal rating scale scores among individuals in the study groups. A more substantial reduction in anxiety levels was found in patients exposed to iatrosedation (Group 1), which was followed by music listening (Group 2). Recorded heart rate and verbal rating scores were the highest in the control group patients. The iatrosedation technique significantly reduced dental anxiety for patients undergoing dental crown treatment; however, music listening was less effective than iatrosedation. Educating patients regarding the dental care they are about to receive is vital for reducing their anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry socket is a common postoperative complication secondary to any tooth extraction but is more commonly associated with mandibular third molars. Dry socket has been treated with various treatment modalities with different success rates. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using honey and zinc oxide eugenol as an intra-socket medicament for the treatment of dry sockets. Ninety patients were divided into three groups as follows: Group 1 "honey": 30 patients; Group 2 "zinc oxide eugenol": 30 patients; and Group 3 "control": 30 patients. Pre-medication and post-medication pain scores at different time intervals were measured on a verbal rating scale. The mean ages of the patients in each of the groups were as follows: Group 1: 44.26 ± 14.14; Group 2: 45.30 ± 18.08; and Group 3: 51.93 ± 9.75. As regards verbal rating scale pain scores, a significant difference was noted in patients that belonged to Groups 1 and 2, with an immediate reduction in post-medication pain scores. However, patients belonging to Group 3 reported pain and discomfort for over a week. The use of honey and zinc oxide eugenol resulted in significant immediate post-medication pain scores in patients as compared to the control group. Therefore, both honey and zinc oxide eugenol can be used as treatment options for dry socket patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge, practicesand stress level of Healthcare workers amid COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Various hospitals and institutes of Pakistan, from Apr 2020 May 2020. Methodology: The study was conducted for a period of One month amongst healthcare workers of Pakistan. After taking an approval from Ethical and Review Committee, a well-structured questionnaire, consisted of 18 questions was constructed and validated. It had two sections; Demography and responses covering knowledge, practices and stress level assessment of healthcare workers. The Perceived stress score 10 (PSS-10) was used to assess the stresslevels. The Questionnaire was uploaded at www.surveys. google.com and the link was distributed through e-mailandshared on social media. SPSS version-25 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Majority of the healthcare workers (75%) had sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 presentation, progression and basic precautionary measures. 64.65% were following basic preventive protocols to combat COVID-19. Perceived stress scale scores were 29.93 indicating high stress-level amongst healthcare workers. Moreover, when perceived stress scale score was correlated with gender and different age groups a significant difference (p=0.04) and (p<0.001) were found. Conclusion: Despite of having adequate knowledge and practices levels of healthcare workers to combat COVID- 19, thestress level was found high. Hence strategy to overcome this stress and poor mental health are needed from team leaders or managers at health facilities. Additionally, in individual capacity managing mental health and psychosocial well-being during this challenging time is as important as managing one's physical health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dentistry has recorded a remarkable progress in recent years, dental implantology has been emerged as its important component. The teeth can be replaced with substantial comfort and aesthetics using dental implants and it has been successful in the long run. To achieve optimal results the knowledge, attitude and reluctance towards implants at both dentist's and patient's level is of paramount importance. Therefore, this short communication was carried out to highlight the current knowledge, attitude and reluctance towards dental implants among general public and dental practitioners. The article projected two investigations that had been carried out with a lap of five years at different dental hospitals and allied institutes. The articles were questionnaire based studies including both male and female participants of all ages. We concluded that the general public were lacking awareness towards dental implants and their access was limited to this treatment due financial constraints. Dentists were the prime source of information providers. Additionally, dentists revealed highest level of knowledge regarding recent and conventional trends of dental implants. But despite of this, the attitude was lacking and confidence in placement of implant were deficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate periodontal health status of teeth in contact with removable prosthesis and teeth not in contact with removable prosthesis. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 60 patients were included who had restored their missing teeth with removable partial dentures. A Community periodontal treatment need (CPITN) probe was used to check the different indexes on the abutment and control tooth. Results show that abutment teeth were periodontally affected in comparison to control teeth. It is important that after rehabilitation with removable partial dentures all health care providers should emphasize on importance of oral health hygiene especially after insertion of removable dentures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to analyze the impact of duration of surgery on post-operative pain and swelling after surgical removal of mandibular third molars. This study was planned as double blind randomized clinical trial that comprised of 60 patients experiencing unilateral mandibular third molar extraction who were recruited into two groups before surgery on the basis of bone cutting method. The study duration was three months, executed at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dow International Dental College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi. Post-operative complications (pain and swelling) were assessed pre operatively and then on 3rd and 7th day post operatively using visual analogue scale and objective scale for swelling measurement using five anatomical points on face. Surgery duration was divided into two groups, 10-20 minutes group and 20 minutes onwards. Mann Whitney test was used to assess the impact of duration on pain and swelling in both groups. In 10-20 minutes group, mean difference for pain on day one, day 3 and day 7 was calculated with p-value of 0.15, 0.641 and 0.081 respectively while in group having surgery duration of 20 minutes and more, the computed p-value were 0.002, 0.0168 and 0.02 respectively. Mean difference for swelling was calculated in both bone cutting groups with p-value of 0.0916 in 10- 20 minute group and 0.004 in 20 minute onward group. Increasing time duration was associated with more pain and swelling irrespective of the method used for bone cutting. Conventional slow speed hand piece used for bone cutting was associated with less post-operative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether a correlation exists between the innercanthal width and maxillary central incisors. STUDY DESIGN: A Descriptive cross sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION: Department of Prosthodontics, Dr Ishrat ul Ebad Khan Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi and from 15th October 2012 to 25th March 2014. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and seventy five dentate individuals with intact maxillary anterior teeth were investigated. The innercanthal space was calculated among the inner canthal angles utilizing computer software. The mean dimension of the two central incisors was determined extra orally at their widest dimension. Teeth measurement and inner canthal distance association in respect to gender was evaluated by paired t test. Pearson correlation coefficients test was premeditated to establish any association amongst innercanthal space and central incisors width, significance was set at a = 0.05. RESULTS: The mean value for male and female subjects was 33.24±3.4 mm and 34.90±3.8 mm correspondingly. The mean width of maxillary central incisors for male and female subjects was recorded 15.84 ±1.4 mm and 15.92±1.3 mm. The value (P = 0.000) for both estimations were significant. The Pearson correlation coefficient were positive (r = 0.202) and highly significant (P = 0 .008) between innercanthal dimension and the maxillary central incisors. The results indicated that innercanthal ratio ratio of 1:0.462 may be used to calculate the combined width of maxillary central incisor teeth. CONCLUSION: Mean of maxillary central incisor width and inner canthal distance were higher in females significantly. The results proposed that innercanthal distance is a good prognostic factor for determining the maxillary central incisors mesiodistal width. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to analyze oral hygiene practices amongst population of Karachi based on frequency of dental visits, brushing, flossing, pan chewing, smoking, miswak and its relation with socio-economic background. A questionnaire based study was designed to collect information regarding above mentioned variables in 994 patients at OPD providing dental care in a teaching hospital. Subjects were categorized as: Blue collared, white collared and the small business holders. The study found the statistcally significant relationship between the frequency of dental visits, miswak usage and the pan chewing with the socioeconomic class. The trend of visiting a dentist without complaint was not common as 34% patients in all were visiting a dentist for the first time, 62% visited when needed, 4%visited once a year for general dental checkup without complaint. Tooth brushing was common tooth cleaning method 69% used tooth brush once daily,13% brushed twice daily while 18%never used a toothbrush at all. The use of miswak alone or in addition to brushing in our study was frequently seen, as 43% subjects used miswak daily and 384 subjects were habitual pan chewers who mainly belonged to the blue collared class (P < 0.01). We conclude that there is remarkable difference in current oral hygiene habits among, socio-economic levels. The low literacy rate in the low socioeconomic class is also a barrier for the development of the health seeking behavior and attitude among the population. This could be improved by the availability of Primary dental health program as part of general health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has always been argued as to what constitutes good dental esthetics, as it can vary from person to person depending on personal experiences and social ambiance. Recurring esthetic dental proportion has been stated to be an essential tool for achieving esthetics and harmony in smile. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of recurring esthetic dental proportion in maxillary anterior teeth widths in a selected sample of Pakistani population. Two hundred dental students were included in the study, included 84 male subjects and 116 female subjects with the age range of 18 to 30 years. Photographs of the subjects were taken using a digital camera (Casio Exilim; EX-S5.Casio computer Corp, China. 10.1 megapixels with 100- mm macro lens and a point flash) and analyzed using Adobe Photoshop 7 software. The width of maxillary central incisors, lateral incisors and canines were found out using the measuring tool provided in the software. The Data were subjected to statistical analysis, (descriptive statistics and t-test, level of significance was set at P<0.05). The values of the recurring esthetic dental proportion (RED) were not constant in this study, and the farther the one moves distally from the midline the higher the values. The RED proportion theory can be applied to relate the successive widths of the maxillary anterior teeth if percentages are adjusted taking into consideration the ethnicity of the population, within the confines of this study Recurring esthetic dental proportion was not seen in the widths of natural maxillary anterior teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to determine the perception and the effects on mentors regarding mentoring dental students at Dow International Dental College, Karachi; Pakistan. There was a qualitative research study consisting of 16 mentors, in which data collection was done by questionnaire designing. Study of the close-ended questions showed that the majority of the mentors had 6-10 numbers of mentees (81%), but unluckily they did not have any communication with mentees' parents. However, 50% of the mentors gave chief preference to their mentees. They helped their mentees in communicating with people which they did not find easy to approach (69%).Most of the mentors met their mentees once a week (62%). All the mentors shared their private phone numbers with their mentees (100%).Majority of the mentors were aware about their mentees' hobbies (69%).All the mentors guided their mentees in professional advancement (100%). If mentees showed misconduct or misbehaved with their mentors in any aspect then most of the mentors counseled them (87.5%).Unfortunately half of the mentors believed that by so much of effort on mentoring and supervision, their mentees did not show any enhancement in academics. It was concluded that mentoring program was acknowledged by the mentors to be a prosperous and pleasing approach for educating young dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]