Dental Fraternity Research Articles

Awareness About Artificial Intelligence Among Dental Practitioners And Dental Students

BACKGROUND Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as acquisition of intelligence by computers or machines to perform complex tasks that generally require human intelligence. Nowadays usage of AI in various fields is appreciated because of its time effectiveness and less laborious.In dentistry, AI has been trending, specifically in diagnostic imaging and early detection of diseases,benefiting both dental graduates and practitioners. AIM The main aim is to assess the awareness of Artificial intelligence as an effective tool among dental trainees and dental practitioners. MATERIALS AND METHOD An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among dental trainees and dental practitioners in various institutions. A Google questionnaire form was developed and circulated to assess participant’s awareness about Artificial intelligence in dentistry. Data were collected in Microsoft excel and statistical analysis were performed. RESULTS More than 60% of the participants showed confidence about their familiarity towards AI in dentistry (p<0.01197). Among those, 60.5% answered that they are well aware of ChatGPT and 28% of them to Microsoft Bing (p<0.04395). 53% answered that machine learning is an important form of AI (p<0.00216). Over the advantages of AI, 43% believed AI can improve diagnostics, access to disease screening, cost effectiveness, reduced treatment time (p<0.0001) and 53% agreed that AI can be useful in day-to-day dental practices (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION The present study shows that awareness of AI among the dental fraternity is satisfactory. The field of AI is emerging rapidly and various other new applications in AI are being utilised. AI could act as a valuable tool in supporting clinicians delivering effective dental care and supplementing education for dental trainees. To enhance the future of AI in dentistry, the present curriculum needs to be approachable enough and various hands-on-training are essential. KEYWORDS:artificial intelligence, chatbots, dental caries, radiographic diagnosis, teledentistry.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘IMMUNITY’ AND ‘PROSTHODONTIC TREATMENTS’- A NARRATIVE REVIEW

The immune system has evolved to protect the host from an ever-growing world of pathogenic microbes. The immune system also helps the host eliminate toxic or allergenic substances that enter the body. The host uses internal and adaptive mechanisms to recognize and eliminate pathogens. Pathogens have a variety of mechanisms by which they multiply, spread, and threaten the normal functioning of the host. At the same time, the immune system destroys pathological microbes and toxic or allergenic proteins. [1] The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to protect the body from harmful pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. So far, the dental fraternity not given much importance to the immune related dental diseases and their treatment. As such very less prosthodontic literature is available on this important topic, hence this narrative review aimed to focus on the importance of immune and its effect on different prosthodontic treatment modalities. Immunity refers to the body's ability to resist and fight off infection or disease. It involves a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against harmful pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Different immunity systems are given below. (Fig-1) [2]

Evaluation of Burnout among Medical Officers and Dental Surgeons in State Health Services using Maslach's Burnout Inventory during COVID-19: A Cross Sectional Study.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic became a worldwide public health crisis. It leads to raised levels of burnout and anxiety among the people of the medical and dental fraternity, especially those involved in various duties related to COVID-19. The present research focused on evaluating the prevalence and predictors of burnout among medical officers and dental surgeons in Haryana's state dental health services. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess burnout among medical officers and dental surgeons involved in COVID-19-related duties in state health services. Maslach's burnout scale was used to evaluate burnout. It is a prevalidated and self-administered questionnaire with three domains, that is, emotional exhaustion (EE), personal accomplishment (PA) assessment, and depersonalization (DP). The Chi square test, Student's t test (unpaired), and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc analysis were done wherever applicable. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to check the relationship among EE, DP, and PA. A total of 200 study participants responded to the online survey. Nearly half of them (51%) were aged 25-34 years. The majority had service experience of up to 20 years (90%). Almost three-fourths (72%) of study participants performed duties for >8 h a day. Up to 86% reported that the second wave of COVID-19 caused increased burnout. Moderate-to-high degrees of occupational exhaustion (OE) and DP were reported among approximately 42% of study participants. Medical officers were reported to have statistically significantly higher levels of burnout compared to dental surgeons (P < 0.05). Moderate levels of burnout were reported among half of the study participants, suggestive of the need to address the issues related to mental health of healthcare providers.

An Insight into the Impact of Ergonomics on the Clinical Practice of Dentists in Gujarat: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract Background and Objective: The role of knowledge, awareness, and practice of the principles of ergonomics in the dental profession needs to be highlighted to the dental fraternity as the prevalence and severity of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are increasing in higher numbers leading to a shortened clinical life span of the dentist. Materials and Methods: A valid close-ended questionnaire was designed and circulated as a Google Form, and 200 dentists all over Gujarat consented to take part in the cross-sectional study. Data were collected and analyzed statistically to understand the relation between understanding and practice of the principles of dental ergonomics. Results: The result revealed approximately 89% of the dentists who had &lt;5 years of clinical experience faced pain in their lower back/shoulder/arm/neck area irrespective of their gender. It was observed that the association between understanding the importance between proper illumination and magnification on a daily routine in a neutral posture was highly statistically significant with 73.8% of dentists aware and practicing it. However, we need a larger sample size to be followed for a longer time to establish and highlight the risk factors for the prevention of work-related injuries. Conclusion: As oral care needs are increasing in the Indian population at an alarming rate, the need for a competent experienced dental fraternity will be a necessity for preventive as well as treatment-based dentistry. An ergonomically established dental setup in line with the practical implementation of the principles of ergonomics and lifestyle changes will lead to a reduction in MSD.

Forensically Valuable Odonatological Records Documentation in an Era of Electronics: How Aware Are the Dental Fraternity?

Forensic odontology plays a pivotal role in the identification of victims in mass disasters with the help of "Preserved dental records" available to general dental practitioners (GDPs). Comparison of dental data obtained from the deceased person with dental data obtained by the dentist from the person's file is a primary method of identification through dental evidence. We explored the practice of maintaining dental records among GDPs, as well as their knowledge of legal regulations and the application of dental records in forensic odontology. Two hundred fifty dentists participated in an online survey. Questions covered general information on dentists, maintenance of dental records, and knowledge of legal requirements and forensic odontology. Overall, 85.2% of dentists obtain and archive written informed consent, while 73.2% retain records in the form of dental cast. Generally, non-carious dental lesions and developmental dental anomalies were not recorded. About 90.8% of dentists use Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI) notation. The survey revealed different practices in the maintenance of dental records, including significant flaws and a lack of awareness of their forensic importance. This obvious need for additional education on the proper maintenance of dental records could be met by including forensic odontology in compulsory undergraduate courses and postgraduate dental education. Establishing national and international standards in dental charting would comply with contemporary trends in health care and the requirements of forensic expertise.

Tele-dentistry in COVID-19 era: A conduit for dental care in uncertain times.

Tele-dentistry encompasses all sorts of digital technologies that involve the exchange of patient's clinical data from a distant site for the provision of dental health care. Tele-dentistry has emerged from the concept of telemedicine, which has been in practice since the 19th century. In recent times, an upsurge in the digital technologies was noted, which has made the possibility of remote access to dental care. The outbreak of COVID- 19 pandemic has restricted the normal routine ways of clinical practice. In these challenging times, tele-dentistry serves as effective platform for providing dental health care. Tele-dentistry has vast applications across various disciplines of dentistry, including preventive dentistry, paediatric dentistry, oral medicine, and oral pathology etc. In these pandemic times, tele-dentistry can be efficiently used for identification of dental emergencies, allowing effective triage and subsequent management. There are different communication platforms available for tele-dentistry. The most common technologies used are web-based video conferencing and smart phone-based applications. As the clinicians are not aware of these digital technologies utilised in tele-dentistry, there are certain challenges associated with its use. In conclusion, tele-dentistry serves as an effective tool in providing health care in challenging times, but it has been underutilised by the dental fraternity. The legislative authorities should establish proper standard protocols to ensure the safety and confidentiality of patient information while using these digital platforms.

Biomedical waste management in dental practice during the COVID-19: A questionnaire survey and a narrative review

Background: Environmental hazards have been a highly debated topic worldwide for a considerable time. During the pandemic, the benefits of environmental cleanliness in terms of increased water quality, air quality, has been reported oftentimes. However, the generation of biomedical waste comprising health care worker utilities such as masks, and gloves, has increased and this increase is calculated in terms of alarming statistics which shows 10 fold higher prediction of Biomedical waste than before. Recent studies by researchers support a cleaner environment; however, an equally increasing amount of biomedical waste generated needs to be monitored strictly alongside stringent regulations for safe disposal of biomedical waste which to be instilled in the mind of the general public. Materials and Methods: Databases like Pubmed and Google scholar were systematically searched for articles with the specific keywords “biomedical waste management in dental practice” which identified 17 articles on 13/09.2020 where filters were applied and restricted to 2020. A detailed analysis of the 17 articles was done and few articles were considered in this narrative review. Results: Our survey results show that the generation of biomedical waste and the awareness of the dental fraternity is very less, almost 41% don’t know the amount of waste generated in India. Conclusion: Amid growing COVID-19 disease incidence, a day-to-day assessment of biomedical waste generation with individual social responsibility is a dire need of the hour to combat and overcome the disease.

Awareness and knowledge regarding dental radiology: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Dental radiographs are an important tool for the diagnostic workup of the patient. Both basic and specialized radiographs are used in dentistry and knowledge regarding its indications and techniques is required both for undergraduate and postgraduate students, general dentists, and consultants.&#x0D; Objective: Our study aimed to explore the knowledge and awareness of dental radiographs among dentists and dental students.&#x0D; Materials and method: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Rehman College of Dentistry, Peshawar Pakistan from October 2022 to March 2023. The questionnaire was prepared after a literature review, validation by experts, and pilot testing. Reliability was observed to be more than 0.9 and the questionnaire was disseminated through online Google forms using convenience sampling. SPSS Version 22.0 was used for data analysis.&#x0D; Results: 154 Participants were included in the study. Out of which 58 percent were females and 42 percent were males. Generally, regarding most of the questions, specialists had the highest knowledge, while postgraduate and general dentists had a neutral ratio, and undergraduates were the least aware.&#x0D; Conclusion: Despite the utmost significance of dental radiology in the diagnosis and treatment planning of the patient, it is not given its due importance. Generally, the dental fraternity lags in knowledge and awareness about the field, especially at the undergraduate level.

Evaluation of Eye Safety Protocol in the Dental Office.

Ocular health is significant as undetected and untreated eye conditions can lead to vision loss and blindness. Usually, dentists, dental assisting staff, and patients undergoing frequent dental corrections are likely affected by eye injuries. This survey aimed to evaluate eye safety protocols in the dental fraternity. A prevalidated questionnaire was given to practicing graduate and postgraduate dentists to obtain details of the eye safety protocol they adopted. A total of 150 dentists approached; only 125 chose to participate in the survey and answered our questionnaire. Although most dentists used eye protection for themselves, primarily personal eyeglasses and face shields, eye injury was quite common in them. Data from this study revealed that the use of eye safety practices among the respondents could be improved. Clinicians should be aware that they are responsible for providing adequate eye protection for themselves and their assisting staff and patients.

Embracing technology for improving dental records and record keeping in the Republic of South Africa. A review.

Forensic odontology (FO) techniques are used to identify unknown remains and play an integral role in dental-legal cases. The utility of FO relies on accurate antemortem records – the creation and management of which continues to be a global challenge, albeit more acutely presenting in developing countries. Inadequate record keeping and management by the dental fraternity has made application of FO techniques for identifying unknown remains challenging. In addition, dental-legal cases such as in homicides, rapes, patient mismanagement and fraud are sometimes unresolved due to record keeping and health system shortcomings. This current status quo affects families and society: bereaved families are deprived of closure, and protracted litigations ensue, leading to various socioeconomic consequences.

A scoping review of knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practices of dental professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and it has become one of the century›s most significant public health concerns. Dentists are among the most exposed medical professionals to the risk of COVID-19 infection, and they must modify their routine clinical attitudes and behaviors. This study sought to assess the current status of dental professionals› knowledge, attitudes, and practices, as well as their adherence to COVID-19 pandemic guidelines. Methods: A scoping review protocol was developed by searching scientific papers in EBSCO, MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus electronic databases using "COVID-19" and "Dentistry" as key search terms to find relevant papers published until March 13, 2021. Two authors reviewed the potentially relevant articles in full. All cross-sectional or cohort studies that evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, or practices of dentists through questionnaires were selected for the review. Results: The search strategy led to the identification of a total of 405 articles which were subsequently assessed for eligibility. By application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, the obtained results were further reduced to 25 citations. The results were organized into the following categories: knowledge (transmission, signs and symptoms, incubation period, etc), attitudes (protective measurements, occupational risk of infection), and practices (protective measurements, personal protective equipment, current status of dental treatments, etc). Conclusion: The research study came to the conclusion that the majority of dentists have sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 infection and comprehend the significance of performing only emergency procedures and delaying elective procedures. Moreover, most of them believed that more awareness programs on COVID-19 prevention are needed for both the dental fraternity and the public.

Multi-centric clinic trials in evidence-based research - A narrative review on the Indian scenario.

Evidence-based health care is gaining prominence since the past many decades. The ultimate goal of evidence-based medicine is providing the best available treatment to patients. The boom in pharmacy sector has seen a rapid rise in randomised controlled clinical trials. Novel medicines or diagnostic tests must be tested before introducing to the target population. Randomised controlled trials are at the top hierarchy of evidence-based health care, especially for testing newly invented drugs. The results obtained from randomised controlled trials cannot be generalised to the entire population. This has led to the evolvement of multi-centre trials in evidence-based research. Multi-centre trials can overcome the barriers associated with single-centre clinical trials. The conduct of multi-centre trials is still in a budding stage in India. Although there are many ongoing multi-centre trials in India, very few trials are conducted among the dental fraternity. The conduct of such trials has its own set of challenges involving funding, ethical committee approval, and logistic requirements. This paper will discuss the growth of multi-centre research, steps involved in conduct of multi-centre trials, and the challenges faced in conducting these trials by the dental specialists in India.

Dental Professionals' Awareness on Updated Guidelines for Basic Life Support in COVID-19 Patients

Abstract Background Members of dental fraternity have a duty of care to provide safe services to the patients. The satisfactory performance in a medical emergency in dental practice has wide-range implications. But, in the current scenario, the challenge is to ensure that patients with or without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), who undergo any medical emergency, get the best possible chance of survival without compromising the safety of rescuers, who will be needed to take care for future patients. Aim This article assesses the awareness and knowledge on interim guidelines for Basic Life Support in adults with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 among various dental health care professionals. Materials and Methods An online questionnaire-based survey was conducted; framed in Google Forms and sent to various dental health care professionals through WhatsApp, email, and other means. Results were then analyzed and are presented in the form of frequency and percentage. Results In the study, 224 responders were included comprising undergraduates, postgraduates, and dental practitioners. Dismally, none of them had complete knowledge on the interim guidance for Basic Life Support for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. Conclusion The study suggests that updated interim guidelines were unknown to maximum percentage of dental professionals which implies that there is need to keep ourselves up-to-date to provide safe services.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Awareness Among Dentists in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aims to assess the knowledge and clinical practices among dentists in Saudi Arabia regarding obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 8 months across the whole country. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the OSA knowledge and practices. The developed questionnaire was closed-ended questions and consisted of three parts: (1) demographic information such as age, gender, work experience, workplace, and specialty; (2) knowledge of OSA; and (3) OSA management practice. The knowledge score was calculated based on six questions, each of which gives one point when answered correctly. A total of 450 dentists from all over the country were surveyed, with a predominance of females (55.6%) and Saudis (59%). About 56% learned about OSA in their undergraduate study, with theoretical lectures being the main source of information. The overall knowledge score was 3.09, with specialists having a higher score than general practitioners (GPs) (p<0.001) and those who learned about OSA in their post-graduate study having higher scores (p<0.001). Despite this, 58.89% never asked their patients about sleep history, and only 19.11% diagnosed patients with OSA before. Only 7.56% used oral appliances to treat OSA, and only one-quarter referred patients to a physician for a sleep-disordered diagnosis. However, 79.33% were willing to attend a continuing education course on managing OSA patients. Our study shows that dentists in Saudi Arabia lack fundamental understanding regarding OSA and their role in screening, diagnosing, and treating patients with OSA, highlighting the need to educate the dental fraternity. Dental GPs and specialists, including orthodontists, must be actively involved in diagnosing and treating this life-threatening health issue.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on academic activities, clinical training, and occupational expectations of postgraduate students of prosthodontic departments in Kerala –A cross-sectional study

The first Covid case in India was reported in Kerala. Kerala’s attempt to contain Covid 19 in the initial period was praised nationally and internationally. This study is a humble attempt to study the impacts of the pandemic outbreak on academic activities, clinical training, and occupational expectations of prosthodontics postgraduate students in Kerala during the period of October 2020 to December 2020. A set of 20 close-ended questions were formulated. The questionnaire was circulated online using google forms among the postgraduate students pursuing prosthodontics in dental colleges in Kerala. Prosthodontic Postgraduate students of dental colleges in Kerala who were willing to participate in the study and gave informed consent were included in the study. Even though Prosthodontic postgraduate students appeared comfortable with technology adaptations for a didactic curriculum, internet connectivity issues were a major hindrance to the smooth conduction of online academic activities. The dental fraternity played a crucial role in the early detection of positive cases and was instrumental in flattening the covid curve in Kerala. The pandemic and the consequent movement restrictions affected the research activities and thesis preparation of postgraduate students. A sufficient supply of good quality PPE kits, rapid antigen screening kits in the department itself, and strict adherence to prudent sterilization and infection control measures were considered crucial in ensuring occupational safety and good patient care in prosthodontic departments during the pandemic waves. The unprecedented pandemic was a learning curve for all the stakeholders in the dental stream. Necessary measures should be taken by the authorities to equip dental colleges so that pandemics should not affect the dental education scenario in the future.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea - An Underestimated and Overlooked Condition

Obstructive Sleep Apnea OSA is one of the most over-looked and underestimated conditions by the general and dental practitioners. Being in dental profession we might be the first ones to diagnose OSA and make timely referrals for its management. Because of lack of knowledge of signs and symptoms of OSA among dentists and general practitioners irregularities in diagnosis and management of OSA patients are noted. Epidemiological studies have shown that detection of cases of OSA has risen considerably in the last decade and awareness among patients medical and dental fraternity can further help in better management and prognosis. This narrative review aimed to highlight the signs symptoms diagnosis and management of OSA for general and specialty medical and dental professionals which otherwise is easily overlooked.

Mechanism and clinical use of botulinum neurotoxin in head and facial region.

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is a biological toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. BoNT is a potent toxin extensively used in therapeutic interventions. This review provides an updated overview of the mechanisms of action and clinical applications of BoNT in head and facial region. MEDLINE/PubMed searches were conducted using the terms "botulinum neurotoxin" and "dentistry" along with a combination of other related terms. In addition, studies were manually selected from reference lists of the selected articles. The Food and Drug Administration in the United States initially approved BoNT to treat strabismus, blepharospasm, and hemifacial spasms. The use of BoNT in dermatology and cosmetics has been widely established and has created a revolution in these fields. Over the years, its applications in various medical specialties have expanded widely. Owing to its safety, efficacy, and long duration of action, it is well-accepted by patients. BoNT/A and BoNT/B are widely used in clinical practice. Several off-label uses of BoNT in the dental fraternity have yielded promising results. We have elaborated on the speculated mechanism of action, dosage, effective sites of injection, and adverse effects of each therapeutic application. The various clinical indications for BoNT include bruxism, myofascial pain, temporomandibular joint dislocation, hemifacial pain, orofacial dystonia, facial paralysis, chronic migraine, and trigeminal neuralgia. BoNT is a safe treatment that can be used effectively, provided that the clinician has adequate knowledge regarding the mechanism, injection techniques, and local and systemic side effects and that it is administered cautiously and purposefully.

Perception of research ethics among dental fraternity in Chennai: A cross sectional analysis

Perception of research ethics among dental fraternity in Chennai: A cross sectional analysis

Age assessment services in public dental health facilities in Kenya: burden and sources of referral (a cross-sectional study).

the need for age assessment remains relevant due to unregistered births or lack of identification documents as a result of political and socioeconomic conflicts. Dentists play a significant role in age assessment. In order to establish the need for capacity building and collaboration, the study set out to determine the proportion of dental patients referred for age assessment and their sources of referral. a cross-sectional study, based on 5-year records (2014-2018) of dental patients and a selected sample of 316 patients who visited for age assessment in 2019-2020 in the same hospitals. The study centers were 8 county hospitals. Variables included gender, dental visits, health facility, and sources of referral. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Fisher´s Exact test were used to identify a significant association between variables. from the records, 12,738 (5.7%) patients sought age assessment services. Females 6,410 (50.3%) and males 6,328 (49.7%) were nearly equal. There was a statistically significant difference in the average number of patients who required age assessment services from different facilities, p=0.000. The selected sample comprised of 186 (58.9%) and 130 (41.1%) males and females respectively. Sources of referral included; court of law (267, 84.5%), prior to acquiring identification documents (47, 14.9%), and others (2, 0.6%). an average of 5% of dental patients seek age assessment services signifying the need for sustained capacity building so as to ensure competent service delivery. The majority of the sampled patients were referrals from the court of law. Further research on how the dental fraternity can collaborate with the Judiciary to ensure justice in age disputes is recommended.

Activity-based Costing of Common Caries Treatments Among Paediatric Patients

Background: Activity-based costing (ABC) is a micro-costing method. Despite being an accurate tool for cost calculation, ABC system is rarely applied in the dental fraternity as it is complex to be conducted. Data gathered through ABC is beneficial in bridging the gap between policy makers who emphasise on cost saving and the practitioners who emphasise on quality of treatment. Aim: To conduct an ABC of common treatments for caries management among paediatric patients at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), Malaysia. Methods: ABC was conducted through a clinical pathway to lay out the routine activities of dental caries management among paediatric patients, and to gather information about the equipment, instruments and consumables used, personnel involved, and the time spent for each procedure. Then, these resources were assigned into different categories namely equipment more than RM 500.00, instruments less than RM 500.00, consumables and staff salary. Finally, cost drivers were determined by calculating the amount of resources used and the time spent. Results: Based on the clinical pathway conducted, there were 10 common treatments for caries management for paediatric patients. The common treatments involved were fissure sealant, glass ionomer cement (GIC) restoration for primary teeth, composite resin (CR) restoration for primary teeth, CR restoration for permanent teeth, strip crown restoration, stainless steel crown (SSC) restoration, pulpotomy, pulpectomy, extraction and scaling. The price range of treatment ranged from RM 60.00 to RM 450.00. Pulpotomy had the highest cost, whereas extraction of teeth had the lowest cost. Conclusion: Study on costing is important to reduce the gap between the demand in dental treatment and the limited resources available to perform the treatment. ABC is deemed to be appropriate to be used in this study as dental treatments are largely procedure-based and this costing method produces a a more precise and transparent data. The outcome of this data provides a tool for other hospitals to be used as a standardised approach for treating these patients and subsequently improve the quality of dental care given.