Assessing Moral Skills in General and Post-Graduate Dental Students in the Southeast of Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Objective: To assess the level of moral skills in dental students and residents. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study was conducted on dental students and residents of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, selected by census sampling. Data collection tools included a demographic information checklist (age, gender, marital status, educational level (before basic sciences, after basic sciences, residency), and moral skills inventory questionnaire. The data were analyzed using a T-test and multiple regression analysis at a confidence level of 95%. Results: The total score of the moral skills questionnaire was about 44 out of 80, and there was no difference between males and females in moral skills (p=0.79). However, there was a significant difference in moral sensitivity between married and single students (p=0.036). Residents gained significantly higher moral integrity scores than students (p=0.046). Conclusion: The study highlights that the level of professional moral skills in Kerman dental students and residents was acceptable. Single students got higher scores in the moral sensitivity domain, although residents got the highest scores in the moral integrity domain. There was no significant correlation between gender and the level of moral skills (AU).

Assessing the Knowledge of Students about Dental Bleaching in Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: An attractive smile and white teeth give self-confidence and provide impression of health, which help individuals for social and interpersonal success. Increasing demand for tooth bleaching and lack of relevant information on the other hand, necessitate a new investigation to assess the knowledge of the students about dental bleaching in Kerman. PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the overall knowledge of the students of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman regarding dental bleaching and their tendency to perform it. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This cross-sectional study enrolled 384 students who were selected by simple random sampling. A valid and reliable self-administered researcher-made questionnaire was employed to collect data about demographic information, health behavior, tooth bleaching, and the tendency to perform . This tool contained 8 questions with the focus on the knowledge of dental bleaching. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 21 and regression analysis at a significant level of 0.05. RESULTS: Overall, 59.55% of participants were male and 40.45% were female students. Most likely, the source for gaining information was internet. In this regard, 29 individuals were dissatisfied with tooth color, 27 ones with the appearance of teeth, 13.5% have done tooth bleaching, and 69% had tendency to do that. The preferred knowledge was about the difference between scaling and root planning (SRP) and bleaching. There was no significant difference between age, gender, and marital status variables with the knowledge of dental bleaching. Tooth color satisfaction increased the tendency to do bleaching about 1.87 times. CONCLUSION: The study highlights that 69 % of the students had a tendency to do the bleaching, their knowledge was moderate, and there was no statistical relationship between knowledge, gender, and marital variables. Color variable had an overall positive effect on the tendency to do the bleaching.

Immunohistochemical Assessment of HER3 Expression in Odontogenic Cysts.

BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that HER3 plays an important role in some human cancers and the HER3 expression is associated with worse survival in solid tumors. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to compare HER3 expression in epithelial lining of radicular cysts (RCs), dentigerous cysts (DCs) and odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive-analytical study, which assessed all 57 paraffin blocks of RCs, DCs and OKCs (21 RCs, 16 DCs, 20 OKC) from pathological archive of Dentistry College of Zahedan, Iran. The HER3 expression in cytoplasm and membrane was examined by immunohistochemical method. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS16 by ANOVA and Chi-square. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: The HER3 expression had positive results in 52.4% of OKC, 50% of DC and only 20% of RC samples. There was a significant difference between HER3 expression in OKCs and RCs. CONCLUSIONS: The HER3 expression in developmental odontogenic cysts was higher than that in inflammatory odontogenic cysts. The higher rate of HER3 expression in OKC may justify inherent growth potential, stimulation-independent proliferation capability, invasive growth and high recurrence rate of the cyst accepted today as a tumor.