Perception of Synchronized Online Teaching Using Blackboard Collaborate among Undergraduate Dental Students in Saudi Arabia.

Blackboard is a collaborative virtual learning tool used for higher learning that has been found to be an effective and efficient means of interactions between teachers and students and offers effective educational information management. The aim of this research work is to assess the preclinical and clinical dental students' perception of Blackboard Collaborate as a quality teaching and learning tool as well as to find out areas that might appear as barriers to quality teaching and learning. This cross-sectional study was conducted online using survey monkey involving 245 dental students who had participated in the virtual classroom lectures during the pandemic with 18 students not completing the survey. The survey instrument was a nine-item questionnaire that included the age, sex, and year of study of the students as well as previous exposure to online lectures. The data collated was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics for windows version 22. Among 245 respondents that were enrolled in the study, 227 respondents completed the survey, of which 58.1% (n = 132) were male while 41.9% (n = 95) were females. Of the 227 respondents that completed this study, 74.8% (n = 170) of them experienced minimum to moderate technical problems regarding connectivity during the online sessions while 1.8% (n = 4) of the respondents experienced very severe technical problems. The majority of the respondents 54.2% (n = 123) support the continuation of online lectures even after the pandemic. In conclusion, we found a positive perception of our respondents to online lectures using Blackboard Collaborate. Internet connectivity as well as a decline in the comprehension of the lectures as compared to face-to-face learning were found as barriers to online learning.

Does preoperative dental anxiety play a role in postoperative pain perception after third molar surgery?

Background: Surgical removal of the impacted third molar is associated with inflammatory morbidities which include swelling, trismus, and pain. Pain is the most common postsurgical morbidity associated with third molar surgery. It remains an important factor in patients' perception of recovery after third molar surgery with dental anxiety reported to exert influence on its threshold. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine if preoperative dental anxiety has any significant role on postoperative pain perception after third molar surgery. Materials and Methods: This was a cohort study involving sixty consecutive adult patients requiring extraction of impacted mandibular third molars under local anesthesia. Modified Dental Anxiety Scale Questionnaire was administered to each participant in the waiting area before the surgery. The visual analog scale was also given to each participant to be completed once daily at approximately the same time as the surgery time until day 7 after the surgery. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: Sixty participants who consented to third molar surgery took part in this study. Five participants were lost to follow-up. There were slightly more males (50.9%) than females (49.1%). Nineteen participants in this study had moderate dental anxiety (34.5%) and 6 participants (11%) had severe dental anxiety with more females having moderate-to-severe dental anxiety. The correlation between pain perception at different days and dental anxiety was not significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Preoperative dental anxiety may not significantly influence pain perception after third molar surgery.

RésuméContexte: L'extraction chirurgicale de la troisième molaire incluse est souvent accompagnée d'un gonflement, d'une difficulté à ouvrir la bouche et de douleurs. La douleur est la morbidité post-chirurgicale la plus courante associée à la chirurgie de la troisième molaire. C'est un facteur important qui détermine la façon dont les patients perçoivent la guérison après une chirurgie de la troisième molaire. Il est rapporté que l'anxiété dentaire a une influence sur le seuil de douleur des patients. Objectif: Pour déterminer si l'anxiété dentaire préopératoire a un rôle significatif sur la perception de la douleur postopératoire après une chirurgie de la troisième molaire. Méthodes: Soixante patients adultes nécessitant l'extraction des troisièmes molaires incluses sous anesthésie locale ont été inclus dans cette étude de recherche. Un Modified Dental Anxiety Scale Questionnaire a été administré à chaque participant dans la salle d'attente avant la chirurgie. Le Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) a également été donnée à chaque patient à compléter une fois par jour à peu près au même moment que l'heure de la chirurgie jusqu'au jour 7 après la chirurgie. Les données obtenues ont été analysées à l'aide de la version 23 de SPSS. Résultats: Soixante patients ayant consenti à une chirurgie de la troisième molaire ont participé à cette étude. Cinq patients ont été perdus de vue. Il y avait un peu plus d'hommes (50,9%) que de femmes (49,1%). Dix-neuf patients avaient une anxiété dentaire modérée (34,5%) et 6 (11%) une anxiété dentaire sévère, un plus grand nombre de femmes ayant une anxiété dentaire modérée à sévère. La corrélation entre la perception de la douleur à différents jours et l'anxiété dentaire n'était pas significative (P> 0,05). Conclusion: L'anxiété dentaire préopératoire peut ne pas avoir d'effet significatif sur la perception de la douleur après une chirurgie de la troisième molaire.

Prevalence and Predictors of Alcohol Consumption during Pregnancy in South-Eastern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a major public health problem because of the enormous deleterious effects on a developing fetus. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is among the highest per capita rates of alcohol consumption in the world, thus suggesting a high burden of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD) in the sub-region. Despite this, there is limited data on alcohol exposed pregnancies for most SSA countries including Nigeria. AIM: To determine the prevalence and predictors of alcohol consumption during pregnancy in Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross-sectional study of 380 consecutive consenting parturients accessing antenatal care at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria. The information sought for, included the women's socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol use in pregnancy, awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol on the babies including FASD, sources of initial information on awareness, type and quantity of alcohol ingested, reasons for taking alcohol and willingness to stop alcohol ingestion in pregnancy after counseling on the risk of alcohol use in pregnancy. Statistical analysis was both descriptive and inferential at 95% confidence level. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of alcohol consumption in pregnancy was 22.6%. The most common brand of alcoholic beverage consumed was stout beer (62.8%, 54/86). A total of 135 (35.5%) respondents were aware that alcohol is harmful to the fetus. Maternal age 30 years or less, nulliparity, less than tertiary education, pre-pregnancy alcohol consumption and lack of awareness of the harmful effect of alcohol on the fetus, were associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy among women in Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria is high and lack of awareness of harmful effect of alcohol on fetus was a major predictor. There is need for a concerted public health campaign to improve the awareness of harmful effects of alcohol on the fetus.