Stress Level of Dental and Medical Students: Comparison of Effects of a Subject-Based Curriculum versus a Case-Based Integrated Curriculum.

The aim of this study was to investigate the stress level of medical and dental students at Kuwait University after a case-based integrated curriculum replaced the former subject-based curriculum. A modified version of the Dental Environment Stress questionnaire was used to measure possible stressors for both medical and dental students. The investigators administered the questionnaire for the first time in 2008, when Kuwait University medical and dental schools followed a subject-based curriculum (group A). The same questionnaire was administered for a second time in 2014, when both medical and dental schools had adopted a case-based integrated curriculum (group B). A total of 345 fifth- and sixth-year medical and dental students responded to the questionnaire (group A=187, group B=158), with an overall 83% response rate. The results showed that, for both the dental and medical students, changing to a case-based integrated curriculum raised the stress level for most of the stressors evaluated. "Inconsistency of feedback on work between different instructors," "difficulties in communicating with teaching staff," "amount of assigned class work," and "examinations and grades" were some of the statistically significant stressors for group B students. Female students reported higher levels of stress than male students in both groups. These results suggest that introducing stress management education into the case-based integrated dental and medical curricula could enhance students' psychological well-being.

Factors associated with postoperative sensitivity of amalgam restorations.

UNLABELLED: Postoperative sensitivity is a common clinical problem with restorative treatments. STUDY AIMS: To identify factors that may be predictive of reported postoperative sensitivity to cold following placement of class I and II amalgam restorations in primary carious lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients were recruited. Patients were telephoned on days two and seven postoperatively and asked about sensitivity to cold and its intensity. If sensitivity remained up to day seven, patients were also contacted on days 30 and 90. RESULTS: Of the 51 teeth that had sensitivity at day two, 17 experienced mild pain, 26 were moderately painful and eight had severe pain. The percentage of females experiencing postoperative sensitivity was higher than that of males at days two, seven and 30 (P=0.000, 0.016 and 0.028, respectively). Younger patients reported significantly more postoperative sensitivity than older ones at day two (P=0.010) but not at days seven and 30 (P=0.157 and 0.877). Postoperative sensitivity did not differ among the different tooth types at days two, seven and 30 (P=0.219, 0.236 and 0.338, respectively), nor with respect to class I and class II cavities at days two, seven and 30 (P=0.219, 0.769 and 0.259, respectively). Patients who had some pre-operative pain had significantly more postoperative sensitivity (P=0.000, 0.000, and 0.004 at days two, seven and 30, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Regression analysis suggested that younger patients, females, and pre-operative sensitivity to cold might be predictive of postoperative sensitivity following placement of amalgam restorations.

Effect of cavity disinfection on postoperative sensitivity associated with amalgam restorations.

This clinical study assessed the postoperative cold sensitivity reported by patients following the Class I and Class II amalgam restoration of primary carious lesions after different cavity treatments. One hundred and twenty patients, each with a previously untreated tooth requiring an amalgam restoration due to the presence of a carious lesion, were included. Sixty teeth had lesions that were radiographically judged to be located in the middle third of dentin, and another 60 were located in the inner third of dentin. Six different cavity treatment regimens were used: Group 1--no treatment; Group 2--calcium hydroxide liner (Life); Group 3--cavity varnish (Copalite); Group 4--resin modified glass ionomer liner (Vitrebond); Group 5--dentin adhesive resin liner (Single Bond); Group 6--chlorhexidine disinfectant (Consepsis). Patients were telephoned on days 2 and 7 postoperatively and asked whether they experienced sensitivity to cold, and if so, its duration and intensity. If sensitivity remained up to day 7, patients were also contacted on days 30 and 90. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed postoperative sensitivity to be significantly different among cavity treatments at days 2, 7 and 30 (p = 0.026, 0.044, 0.015, respectively). Lesion depth also affected postoperative sensitivity at day 2, with 27% of teeth with middle-third lesions producing pain, and 58% of those with lesions extending to the inner third producing pain (p = 0.000). This difference showed up at 7 and 30 days (p = 0.001, 0.015, respectively). Of the 51 teeth with sensitivity at day 2, 17 had mild pain, 26 were moderately painful and 8 had severe pain; each category reduced in degree of sensitivity and number with time. It would seem that medium-term (beyond 30 days) postoperative sensitivity is affected neither by the method of cavity treatment nor the depth of lesion, although, in the shorter-term, these factors do influence the postoperative sensitivity reported.