Education
Saeedeh Mokhtari; Alireza Heidari; Milad Zarei
Abstract
Aim: Dentistry is a stressful profession, and dental students are susceptible to different forms of stress and psychological pressures. Investigating the amount of this stress and knowing the sources that cause it, can help in creating a supportive and stress-reducing educational environment.
Methods: ...
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Aim: Dentistry is a stressful profession, and dental students are susceptible to different forms of stress and psychological pressures. Investigating the amount of this stress and knowing the sources that cause it, can help in creating a supportive and stress-reducing educational environment.
Methods: Fifty-nine senior dental students of Tehran Faculty of Dentistry participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. The data was collected by DASS-21 questionnaire using a 4-scale measure. The total stress scores of the students were calculated at the clinical departments of the Dental School. The severity of depression, anxiety, and stress was calculated for the students. The comparison of the total stress scores at different departments was made by ANOVA, and the effect of demographic factors on predicting the stress scores was determined by linear regression analysis. P-values <0.05 were considered as significant.
Results: Among the total participants, 72.9% (n=43) showed different levels of depression; 57.7% (n=34) had different levels of anxiety and 64.3% (n=38) exhibited different levels of stress. The total stress scores of the students were mostly reported in the endodontics (12.59, P<0.05) and oral medicine (9.2, P<0.05) departments, while the least total scores were found in the orthodontics (3.89, P<0.05) and oral and maxillofacial surgery (4.25, P<0.05) departments.
Conclusion: The senior dental students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences have high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. The highest levels of stress were related to the departments of endodontics and oral medicine among the educational departments. It appears that dental students living away from their families and the students whose mothers have high educational levels require further support in this respect.
Microbiology
Maryam Omidkhoda; Ali Kazemian; Seyedeh Zahra Siadatifar; Athar Nasseri
Abstract
Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for healthcare professionals, particularly in the field of dentistry. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in infection control measures in dentistry before and during the pandemic among Iranian dentists.Methods: An analytical cross-sectional ...
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Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for healthcare professionals, particularly in the field of dentistry. This study aimed to evaluate the changes in infection control measures in dentistry before and during the pandemic among Iranian dentists.Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from June to December 2020, and included dental healthcare professionals (DHCPs) practicing dentistry in Iran. Participants completed a web-based survey that included demographic profiles, practice-related details, and information on implemented infection control measures. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using the software SPSS v. 26, and a P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 303 dentists, 200 (66%) of whom practiced specialized dentistry and 103 (34%) were general dentists, responded to the questionnaire. The majority of participating dentists (85.5%) were aware of the importance of patient screening for COVID-19 symptoms. There was a statistically significant rise in adherence to hand hygiene practices. The utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, masks, and face shields also exhibited significant increases amid the pandemic. Dentists shifted from using surgical masks to N95 respirators (p=0.05) and white coats to disposable gowns (p<0.001). We noted a significantly greater tendency towards adopting air ventilation systems, surface disinfection and prescribing preprocedural mouth rinses among DHCPs.Conclusion: The study findings indicate increased compliance with infection control protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic among Iranian DHCPs and highlight the modifications made to infection control measures in dentistry.
Mostafa Abtahi; Milad Zarei; Rasool Saheb Alam; Paria Raeesi; Lohrasb Dehghani
Abstract
Aim: The present study was designed to investigate the degree of achievement of the educational goals of Mashhad Dental School's educational program from the perspective of basic sciences students in the academic year 2018-2019. By examining the current situation, it is possible to improve the educational ...
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Aim: The present study was designed to investigate the degree of achievement of the educational goals of Mashhad Dental School's educational program from the perspective of basic sciences students in the academic year 2018-2019. By examining the current situation, it is possible to improve the educational quality of the program.Methods: To measure the achievement of educational goals, a checklist and a questionnaire were prepared based on the educational headings in the dental education regulations approved by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and approved by the school of Dentistry. After classification, the desired information was evaluated descriptively using SPSS-20 software and the chi-square statistical test.Results: Significant differences did not exist between the two sexes regarding the achieved goals, except for the dental material basics course. The achieved goals were not significantly different between the students with “A “average score and other students in any of the courses. Also, significant differences were not found in any courses in the realized goals between students with different interests in the field of dentistry.Conclusion: Fulfillment of educational goals is lower in the less applicable courses for the field of dentistry in the basic sciences, which indicates the necessity of curriculum revision to achieve higher quality education.
Girish Chaudhary; Anshul Chaudhry; Armaan Pandher; Priyanka Kapoor; Aman Chowdhry; Sanghamitra Jena
Abstract
Aim: The original Demirjian method for dental age estimation is very lengthy, because it involves a number of charts to estimate the dental age. So, a simplified comprehensive chart (DAEcc) was developed to facilitate dental age estimation by the Demirjian method. The aim of the study was to check the ...
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Aim: The original Demirjian method for dental age estimation is very lengthy, because it involves a number of charts to estimate the dental age. So, a simplified comprehensive chart (DAEcc) was developed to facilitate dental age estimation by the Demirjian method. The aim of the study was to check the applicability and reproducibility of the simplified comprehensive DAEcc chart for dental age estimation by a group of dental interns.Methods: Twenty-eight interns were trained to identify the correct stage of calcification on dental radiographs by tracing seven mandibular permanent teeth (lower central and lateral incisors, canine, first and second premolars, first and second molars in the fourth quadrant) on orthopantomographs of the left side. After assigning the corresponding scores, all the scores were summed up and ease of applicability of the simplified method was assessed for dental age estimation.Results: The correlation coefficient between chronological age and dental age as estimated by the interns was 0.995, which showed an excellent correlation; and the average time taken by the interns for the interpretation was 1-2 minutes, which is much less compared to the original method. The excellent correlation and the little time taken by the interns, demonstrate the ease of applicability of this modified chart.Conclusion: Dental age was correctly estimated by dental interns by applying this simplified chart in a significantly shorter time period.
