Outcome Of Endodontic Procedures Performed By Dental Interns Using Stainless Steel And Niti Files: A 10- Year Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Preparation of root canal according to its desired anatomy and complete disinfection is a laborious task. Several factors influence the endodontic treatment including operator's skill and knowledge, anatomy of the tooth, the instruments and equipment used. In the past stainless-steel instruments were used to prepare the root canal but it causes many iatrogenic errors. Nickel titanium instruments evolved to overcome the iatrogenic damages caused by stainless steel instruments. Keeping this in mind a comparative study was conducted on the clinical work of dental intern using stainless steel files and progressively taper nickel titanium instruments. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of interns using either stainless Steel or progressively tapered hand operated NiTi instruments. METHODS: This retrospective study included post-treatment radiographs of root canal treatments performed by interns by using either stainless steel files or NiTi Protaper files, in the endodontic department of Hamdard University Dental Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. It was a 10-year audit, from 2008 to 2018, of endodontic performance. A total of 1219 post treatment radiographs of good quality and showing at least 2mm periapical area beyond the root apex were included. In SS group, preparation were performed by step back method, while in NiTi group the Protaper instruments for hand were used. Scoring criteria was used to evaluate technical quality. The data was analysed using SPSS for windows version 17.0. Chi-square test was used to determine difference in proportions between the outcomes in SS and NiTi groups at p0.05. RESULTS: A total of 1219 radiographs were included out of which 584 (47.9%) belonged to SS and 635 (52.1%) to NiTi group. Overall satisfactory performance was in 553 (45.4%) teeth. Treatment done with NiTi was only marginally better than that achieved with SS files (NiTi n=298 (46.9%), SS n=255 (43.7%)). In the SS group, there were more overfills and internal and external transportation (p<0.001). NiTi reported more cases of inadequate lateral seal and separated instruments (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Endodontic performance of interns was not improved with progressive taper NiTi manual instruments.

Analysis of bristle design of commercially available tooth brushes by using scanning electron microscope.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the bristles of five toothbrushes types and to recommend the best design among them. METHODS: The study was conducted at Hamdard University Dental Hospital, Karachi, from June 2017 to February 2018, and comprised five different types of commercially available manual toothbrushes. Five toothbrushes from each of the selected brands were procured from a supermarket taking care that all brushes from similar brands had the same manufacturing batch number and date of manufacturing. The five types were coded as SN, SHD, CG, OB and PAD. Each of the bristle obtained from the toothbrushes was mounted on a glass slide and secured using cover slip. Scanning Electron Microscope was used to check the morphology of the bristle which was scored with Silverstone and Featherstone scale. SPSS 22 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 356 bristles obtained, there were SN 72(20.2%), SHD 64(18%), CG 76(21%), OB 78(22%) and PAD 66(19%). Morphology of SN was 66(91.66%) and that of CG62(81.57%), followed by SHD51(79.68%), OB 48(61.53%) and PAD 38(57.57%). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the study, SN toothbrush showed best bristle-end morphology.

Optic neuritis: Observation and experience at a tertiary care hospital in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: Optic neuritis (ON) can occur in isolation or association with multiple sclerosis (MS) or neuromyelitis optica. ON, is seen more commonly in Caucasians and interaction is found to exist between ethnic origin and the latitude at which the patient grows up. At present limited information is available about the profile of ON in Saudi patients. We aimed to analyze the records of ON patients, in regard to their presentation, natural history, treatment outcome, and risk and association with MS. Whether, ON in Saudi patients behaves differently from the Western and Asian patients? METHODS: In this retrospective observational study; we retrieved the data from the medical records of the patients with ON, who attended the ophthalmology and neurology services of King Fahad Specialist Hospital Buraidah, Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia, from period 2006 to 2012. RESULTS: We recorded data of 60 patients of ON; 38 females (63.3%) and 22 males (36.7%). Color vision was affected in 66.7% of cases. Vision in the affected eye was 20/200 or worse in 74.97 % of our cases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain revealed multiple lesions in 55% of cases; most of them developed MS on follow-up. Only 48.3% of patients had received systemic steroids. Vision improved in 85% of our cases. CONCLUSION: Most of our patients had idiopathic ON, and almost 85% had good visual recovery, in this regard our study is comparable with such studies done in other Asian countries. On the other hand, 55% of our patients had multiple MRI brain lesions, a high risk and association of MS, almost similar to the Western Europe and North American ON patients.