Establishing dental recall interval for Pakistani children: A longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the caries increment rate in children to establish appropriate dental recall interval. METHODS: The prospective longitudinal study was conducted from May 2016 to October 2017 in Bhakkar city of Punjab, Pakistan, and comprised schoolchildren aged 12 years. The caries progression rate was measured using the Modified Beck's method or adjusted caries increment. The response rate at baseline and at each follow-up was compared. Bonferroni correction was used to compare baseline mean caries increment with caries increment at 6, 12 and 18 months. Data was analysed using SPSS 17 and Stata 14. RESULTS: Of the 226 subjects enrolled, 183(81%) were present at the last follow-up. However, only 147(65%) subjects were available for all the four measurements. Significantly high caries increment among cavitated lesions was observed at all the three follow-ups compared to the baseline (p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The caries increment rate was low in cavitated lesions, but when non-cavitated and cavitated lesions were merged, they showed high caries increment.

Perceptions of dental faculty and students of E-learning and its application in a public sector Dental College in Karachi, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess e-learning resources and its application in dentistry among students and faculty of a dental college.. METHODS: The qualitative study was conducted at Dow International Dental College, Karachi, from April to July 2017, and comprised semi-structured one-to-one interviews of undergraduate and postgraduate dental students as well as faculty members. A questionnaire was used to collect data about the way learners were using computer or smart phones in addition to conventional learning. The data was analysed through analysis of themes that included familiarisation, identification of a theme framework, indexing, charting, followed by mapping and interpretation. RESULTS: There were 21 subjects in the study. The use of smart phones was still limited to communication majorly. Majority of students utilised online resources like e-books and online searches. Faculty members used computers for reading articles and research. CONCLUSIONS: Blended asynchronous e-learning strategies were being practised by dental students and faculty.

Morphological Analysis Of Cementoenamel Junction Types In Premolars And Molars Of A Sample Of Pakistani Population.

BACKGROUND: Cementoenamel junction represents the demarcation between enamel covered crown and cementum covered root surface. There is paucity of population specific data of the morphological variability of cementoenamel junctions of permanent and primary teeth. The objective of this study was to investigate the morphological diversity and interrelationship of cementoenamel junction of premolar and molar teeth in permanent dentition of a sample of Pakistani population with potential forensic and anthropological implications. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Oral Biology department of Dr Ishrat ul Ebad khan institute of oral health science, Dow University from March till September 2016. Seventy-five maxillary and mandibular permanent premolar and molars from adult patients of both sexes were selected and sectioned. Longitudinal ground sections were prepared to study the morphological interrelationship between Cementum and Enamel in each specimen to be viewed under light microscope. A chi-square test was applied between the categorical variables. RESULTS: Results showed 57.3% of sections had cementum overlapping enamel interrelation, 32% showed edge to edge cementum and enamel relation and 9.3% showed that cementum and enamel failed to meet resulting in exposed dentine, while 1.3% sample showed enamel over cementum relation. No significant correlation was found between gender, type of tooth, maxillary, mandibular arches and the morphological variation of CEJ (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that there are considerable morphological variations in CEJ of premolars and molars with preponderance of cementum overlapping enamel in these teeth. Based on these findings, dentists are advised to be mindful of dental procedures involving the CEJ and that these interventions should be performed meticulously avoiding any detachment of cementum and subsequent exposure of dentin resulting in dentin hypersensitivity.