Level of anxiety and depression among undergraduate dental students of University of Hail, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Dental students have been identified as having a high level of stress. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depression among undergraduate dental students of university of Hail and to determine the association of anxiety and depression in terms of gender and respective year of study. METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Nonprobability sampling technique was used to assess the prevalence and association of anxiety and depression among male and female dental students of preclinical and clinical years of College of Dentistry, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia. Students were contacted personally, explained the purpose of the study and asked to participate in the study. Students were asked to complete both Beck's depression inventory and Beck's anxiety inventory to assess the level of their respective status. RESULTS: The results of the survey revealed that a greater number of females suffered from 'moderate' level of anxiety (12.3%) as compared to males (3.2%). Additionally, the percentage for females to experience 'borderline' (11.6%) and 'moderate' (9.7%) level of depression was higher than their male counterparts -'borderline' (7.7%) and 'moderate' (2.6%). The level of anxiety and depression compared with genders was found to be statistically significant. It was noted that final year students (8.4%) experienced 'moderate' level of anxiety and there was a peak rise in level of depression among 4th year (6.5%) and 6th year (5.8%) students as compared with other years. CONCLUSION: The finding of the study emphasizes that the overall percentage of level of depression is comparatively higher than level of anxiety among dental students.

Variability of arch forms in various vertical facial patterns.

OBJECTIVE: To compare arch forms in various vertical facial patterns and to make arch form guides based on posterior intermolar widths. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from June 2007 to May 2008. METHODOLOGY: Subjects with age range of 13-30 years were selected having full complement of teeth (upto second permanent molars) with absence of severe crowding (less than 7 mm). Exclusion criteria were presence of dental anomalies, previous dentoalveolar surgery, trauma or orthodontic treatment and craniofacial syndromes. One hundred subjects including 40 normodivergent, 30 hypodivergent and 30 hyperdivergent cases were selected. Occlusograms were made and various arch dimensions were measured. Arch forms were calculated according to ratios of three sagittal to three transverse dimensions. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 21 years and 5 months. Differences in arch dimension were found only in maxillary total arch length (p=0.03) and mandibular posterior intermolar width (p=0.04). Wide lower arches were predominant in all face types. Wide upper arches were predominant in only hypo- and hyperdivergent subjects. CONCLUSION: Wide lower arches were predominant in all face types whereas wide upper arches were predominant in both hypo- and hyperdivergent subjects. A non-linear relationship was found between arch length and arch width; so arch form guides could not be made for specific face types.

Compensation for vertical dysplasia and its clinical application.

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate skeletal and dental compensation in patients with vertical skeletal dysplasias and to determine which dentoalveolar parameters compensate for vertical jaw discrepancies. Cephalometric analyses were performed on pre-treatment lateral cephalographs of 186 orthodontic patients (120 females and 66 males; mean age 15 years 11 months) who met the selection criteria. SN-MP angle was used to classify the facial patterns as: hyperdivergent > 36 degrees, normo = 28-36 degrees, and hypo < 28 degrees. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine statistical differences between the means in the three vertical facial types. To evaluate dental compensation quantitatively, correlation analyses were performed to find associations between skeletal and dental parameters. To further elucidate the compensatory nature of the lower incisors, regression analyses and scattergrams were obtained, with SN-MP as a measure of the vertical skeletal discrepancy. ANOVA showed statistically significant differences for most of the skeletal variables, but only for lower incisor height and inclination among the dentoalveolar parameters. Correlation analyses demonstrated significant relationships between various skeletal variables. LI-MP showed a negative relationship with SN-MP, whereas LAMdH demonstrated a positive linear relationship with SN-MP. Among all dentoalveolar heights, UAMxH showed the weakest, and LAMdH the strongest, associations with skeletal parameters. The variability in dentoalveolar compensation therefore demands individualized diagnosis and treatment planning. LAMdH and LI-MP parameters were the most likely, whereas UAMxH was the least likely parameter to compensate for vertical dysplasia.

Evaluation of dentoalveolar compensation in skeletal class II malocclusion in a Pakistani University Hospital setting.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively evaluate the pattern of dentoalveolar compensation in skeletal class II patients and to find which dentoalveolar parameter compensates the most for this sagittal jaw discrepancy. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Dental Section, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2005 to March 2006. METHODOLOGY: Cephalometric analyses were performed on pretreatment lateral cephalographs of 87 orthodontic patients who met the selection criteria. Various linear and angular measurements were taken. For a quantitative evaluation of dentoalveolar compensation, association was found between various dental and skeletal parameters by correlation analyses. To evaluate which parameter compensates the most, regression and scatters were performed keeping ANB angle as a measure of sagittal jaw discrepancy versus some parameters (SN-OP, A-NP, UI-NA, IIA, LI-OP, LI-SN, LI-FH, LI-MP). RESULTS: Statistically significant associations were seen between some skeletal and dental parameters. Correlation and regression analyses indicated SN-OP, LI-OP and LI-FH to be the most likely parameters to compensate for underlying sagittal jaw discrepancies. CONCLUSION: Lower incisor position and occlusal plane inclination in relation to the craniofacial structures are the most likely parameters for compensation in class II sagittal jaw discrepancy, evaluation of which may be helpful in treatment planning and treatment success.

Lip line preference for variant face types.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of altered lip line on attractiveness and to find preferred lip line for vertical face types in both genders. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from May to July 2009. METHODOLOGY: Photographs of two selected subjects were altered to produce three face types for the same individual with the aim of keeping the frame of the smile constant. Lip line was then altered for both the subjects as: both dentitions visible, upper incisors visible, upper incisors and 2 mm gum and 4 mm gum visible. The pictures were rated by different professionals for attractiveness. Descriptive statistics for the raters and multiple factor ANOVA was used to find the most attractive lip line. RESULTS: The total number of raters was 100 with the mean age of 30.3 ± 8 years. The alterations in the smile parameters produced statistically significant difference in the attractiveness of faces, whereas the perception difference was found to be insignificant amongst raters of different professions. Preferred lip line was the one showing only the upper incisors in dolico and mesofacial male and female genders whereas 2 mm gum show was preferred in brachyfacial subjects. CONCLUSION: The variability in lip line showed significant difference in the perceived attractiveness. Preferred lip lines as the one showing only the upper incisors in dolico and mesofacial male and female genders whereas 2 mm gum show was preferred in brachyfacial subjects.

Clinical applicability of variations in arch dimensions and arch forms among various vertical facial patterns.

OBJECTIVE: To compare dental arch dimensions and arch forms in various vertical facial patterns. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparative study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from June 2007 to May 2008. METHODOLOGY: Cases of age ranging 13-30 years were reviewed having full complement of teeth (upto second permanent molars) with less than 7 mm crowding. Exclusion criteria included presence of dental anomalies, previous dentoalveolar surgery, trauma or orthodontic treatment and craniofacial syndromes. One hundred cases including 40 normodivergent, 30 hypodivergent and 30 hyperdivergent facial patterns were selected. Occlusograms were made and various arch dimensions were measured. Arch forms were calculated according to ratios of three sagittal to three transverse dimensions. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 21 years and 5 months. Significant differences in arch dimensions were found only in maxillary total arch length (p=0.03) and mandibular posterior intermolar width (p=0.04). Wide lower arches were predominant in all face types. Wide upper arches were predominant only in hypo- and hyperdivergent subjects. CONCLUSION: Statistically significant difference in arch dimensions was found only in maxillary total arch length and mandibular posterior intermolar width. A non-linear relationship was found between arch length and arch width. Wide lower arches were predominant in all face types whereas wide upper arches were predominant in hypo- and hyperdivergent subjects.