Compressed 4-day workweek for dental faculty retention and recruitment.

Faculty recruitment and retention are major concerns faced by dental schools across the country. This increase in faculty shortage impacts training the next generation of clinicians and oral health care delivery in dental institutions, which together will exacerbate challenges related to access to dental care. The objective of this paper is to propose a compressed workweek as an incentive to improve recruitment, retention, and faculty well-being. There are several well-documented benefits of the 4-day workweek which include employee wellness, increased job satisfaction, happiness, and improved perception of personal worth. Cost savings may be also realized with this schedule, as expenses related to transportation and dependent care costs could potentially decrease. Altogether, these benefits have been shown to lead to reduced absenteeism, anxiety, stress, and burnout. This perspective piece will discuss how the 4-day workweek could be implemented in dental institutions, along with the benefits and challenges. Given the shortage of clinical faculty throughout the United States, we recommend this approach not only as a means to attract recent graduates to academia but also to ensure the retention of those who provide clinical instruction.

Assessing likelihood of using the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency to predict preclinical performance of dental students.

Objective: The acquisition of motor skills is a key competency for the practice of dentistry, and innate abilities have been shown to influence motor performance. Thus, finding the most efficient manual dexterity tests may predict performance of dental students. The current study used the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, to assess motor skills of first year (D1) and second year (D2) dental students. Materials and methods: Three fine motor subsets of the BOT-2-fine motor precision, fine motor integration, and manual dexterity-were administered to D1 and D2 dental students in 2017 and 2018. The BOT-2 subset scores of D1 students were compared with those of D2 students, who had preclinical dental experiences. For D2 students, we tested for correlations between BOT-2 subset scores and performance scores in a preclinical operative dentistry course. Results: No differences were found between D1 and D2 students for any BOT-2 subtest scores (all Ps > .09). No correlations were found between total scores of each BOT-2 subtest and the operative dentistry course for D2 students (all Ps > .20). Conclusions: Our results suggested the BOT-2 was not predictive of manual skills of dental applicants or preclinical dental students. Although we assumed students would perform well with instruction, practice, and feedback, we were unable to determine whether innate abilities influenced acquisition of manual dexterity skills. More research about the acquisition of technical clinical skills in dentistry is required.

Viscosity effects of polyvinyl siloxane impression materials on the accuracy of the stone die produced.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different viscosities of polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) impression materials on the accuracy of the stone die produced. METHODS: A three-unit bridge master model was fabricated using cold-cure acrylic resin. Four combinations of different viscosities of PVS impression materials - regular body (monophase) alone, light body with regular body, light body with heavy body, and light body with putty - were used to make an impression of the master model. Ten impressions from each group were taken and Type IV gypsum stone was used to generate the dies. The dies were measured at the inter-abutment distance, occlusogingival length, and shoulder width with a measuring microscope and were compared with the master model using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey (honest significant difference) test. RESULTS: Differences were found for inter-abutment distance between the master model and the light body with regular body and light body with putty dies (both P < 0.02). A difference was found for shoulder width between the master model and the regular body alone die (P = 0.01). No differences were found for occlusogingival distance (all P > 0.08). CONCLUSION: Results suggested inter-abutment distance was most accurate when using a PVS light body combination. Occlusogingival length was accurate using any of the studied PVS combinations, and shoulder width was more accurate when using the regular body PVS. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: These results should be considered when choosing the viscosity of the PVS to use for producing impressions of high accuracy and fabricating a well-fitting fixed prosthesis.

Effects of a combination of non-pharmaceutical psychological interventions on dental anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Dental anxiety is a common problem associated with poorer oral health. Managing anxiety is key to improving oral health of patients with dental anxiety. The present pilot study therefore investigated dental anxiety prevalence among patients visiting a university dental clinic. We further examined the effect of combined psychological interventions on anxiety or concern towards dental treatment procedures before treatment, after treatment, and at follow-up. METHODS: In this prospective pilot study, patients seeking restorative treatment were screened for dental anxiety and dental concern about treatment using the Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised (DAS-R) and Dental Concern Assessment (DCA) questionnaires. Participants with a DAS-R score of 9 or above were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The patients in the experimental group received two psycho-logical interventions (psychoeducation and progressive muscular relaxation) prior to dental treatment. Dur-ing treatment, patients received another psychological intervention (music distraction). No psychological interventions were given to control patients. DAS-R and DCA scores were used to assess dental anxiety and concern, respectively, before treatment, after treatment, and at follow-up. Nonparametric tests were used for intergroup and intragroup statistical analyses. RESULTS: Out of 64 patients surveyed, 33 (51.6%) had experienced dental anxiety. Of those, 2 were exclud-ed, and 31 patients with a mean ± SD age of 41.2 ± 15.9 y completed the study. No intergroup differences in dental anxiety were found in terms of pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up treatment. The mean rank value of the dental anxiety score was less in the experimental group (13.53) than the control group (18.31), albeit not significant. More specifically, differences (Kruskal-Wallis %2 = 14.82, P = 0.001, effect size = 0.33) were found in the experimental group for pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up treatment levels of dental anxiety for extraction (P = 0.01), injection (P = 0.02), and sound/vibration of the drill (P = 0.00). No significant intragroup differences between pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up treatment were found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The combined brief psychological interventions reduced dental anxiety. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: The psychological interventions of the present study could be applied right before or during dental treatment to reduce the dental anxiety of patients. However, additional research involving larger groups is needed to replicate the results of this pilot study.

Modified protrusive wax record in recording condylar path angle and ethnic variations.

Background: The Condylar Path Angle (CPA) is an important measurement that is used to program articulators used in dental treatment. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the CPA in Malay subjects, to compare the measurements with average values, 25˚-35˚ Camper's (based on Caucasian studies), and to compare the right and left CPAs. Methods: Thirty subjects aged 21-23 years were recruited. A wash technique impression was made, casts were poured, and face-bow transfers were taken. The casts were mounted to their centric position on a semi-adjustable articulator. Protrusive guides were constructed to allow the mandible to be protruded for 5 mm, and then the angles were measured using the protrusive record method. Results: The right CPA was within the normal range for 43% (13/30) of participants and out of the normal range for 57% (17/30). The left CPA was within the normal range for 33% (10/30) of participants and out of the normal range for 67% (19/30). There was no statistically significant difference between the left and right CPAs (p = 0.72), but there was a strong linear relationship between left and right CPAs (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Results of the current study indicated Malay subjects had measurable variations in the CPA, suggesting this population has an ethnic variation in the CPA. Relevance for patients: To improve the quality of patient care, the CPA should be considered when constructing fixed/removable prostheses that use semi-adjustable articulators, and clinicians should not rely on the set average values that are pre-set on articulators.