Brazilian Version of the Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire

Aims: To perform cross-cultural adaptation of the Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire (DES) for use in Portuguese-speaking populations, evaluate its psychometric properties, and determine the effects of gender and educational level in the perception of stress sources in dental students. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study design was implemented to examine face and content validity. 466 Brazilian students participated in the study in 2015 (UNESP students response rate=79.2%; UNIARA students response rate=82.4%). Construct validity was assessed via the determination of factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach's α, and composite reliability. A model was designed using structural equation modeling, to verify the effects of gender and educational level on the perception of stress sources. Results: The complete model purposed was not a good fit to the sample (λs=0.358–0.955, ꭙ2/df=3.36, CFI=0.881, TLI=0.870, RMSEA=0.071, r=0.426–0.664, AVE=0.366–0.856). After the removal of item 12 and insertion of a correlation between the errors for items 1 and 2 (LM=399.154) and Items 14 and 16 (LM=146.216) the model fitted the sample (λs=0.411–0.955, ꭙ2/df=2.54, CFI=0.926, TLI=0.919, RMSEA=0.058, AVE=0.363–0.850). Adequate content validity ratios were observed for 23 items. Gender affected all DES factors, and educational level influenced four factors. Conclusion: Cross-cultural adaptation process provided an instrument that was easy to understand, with adequate idiomatic and cultural equivalence. The Portuguese version of the DES showed good psychometric properties and reliability in the study sample. Gender and educational level exerted significant effects on seven and four factors, respectively.

COVID-19 and oral lesions: A review

A new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) was detected in China at the end of 2019 and has since caused a worldwide pandemic. This virus is responsible for an acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19), distinguished by a potentially lethal interstitial bilateral pneumonia. As Sars-CoV-2 is highly infective through airborne contamination, the high infection risk in the dental environment is a serious problem for both professional practitioners and patients. This literature overview at analyzing various reports available on oral symptoms along with possible causation, their relationship to the time of occurrence of clinical symptoms of this global pandemic.

An update on indirect prosthodontic materials and their manufacturing techniques

Innovations in the fabrication of removable partial dentures depend not only on the development of new materials, but also on the availability of manufacturing techniques that can be applied to a dental environment. Many of these new materials have limited clinical evaluations, hence it can be difficult for the general dental practitioner to confidently determine which materials to use. The introduction of any new material into clinical practice often requires practitioners to go through a learning curve to make the most of the material and employ it most appropriately. This article provides an update on the materials available for removable partial dentures and discusses the advantages and disadvantages to enable the GDP to make an evidence-based decision. CPD/Clinical Relevance: It is important that clinicians are aware of the alternative materials to conventional acrylic and cobalt chrome.

Correlation between Dental Environment and Perceived Stress Scale among Dental Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Academic stressors in a medical educational environment are related to two factors. This study was carried out in order to analyze the correlation between the dental environment and perceived stress among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were 422 undergraduate dental students and the validated Modified Dental Environmental Stress (DES) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaires were used. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation analysis was used to measure the correlation between DES and PSS score. The result showed that five dental stressors were noted to have the strongest correlations with PSS (p-value >0.40). They include expectation towards dental school (p-value = 0.431), lack of confidence to be a successful dentist (p-value = 0.424), lack of confidence to become a successful dental student (p-value = 0.408), dental school regulations (p-value = 0.401) and criticism of school work (p-value = 0.400). In addition, all six DES categories showed a positive correlation with the PSS. Therefore, the dental students collectively displayed moderate perceived stress scores. The overall discoveries from this study showed a positive correlation between the DES and PSS among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dentist’s child view and psychological approach

In the routine care of the child, professional can come across situations in which the child shows aversive, and avoiding personal contact, especially in cases of first appointment. This study aims to analyze the children's perception about dental surgeon through drawings analysis and verbal characterization. The sample consisted of 108 children aged between 5-11 years of both genders, 59 were patients of pediatric dentistry clinic of west Sao Paulo Presidente Prudente, and 49 students of the school of Tertuliano de Area Leão located in the city of Santo Anastacio, SP, Brazil. Children made a drawing expressing their vision about dental surgeon and the dental environment. The collected drawings were interpreted by a psychologist and grouped in Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet and performed a statistical analysis using Fisher's exact test, logistic regression and regression simple logistics. Through this study it was possible to observe that 57,6% children analyzed in clinic of pediatric dentistry of Unoeste presented pleasant vision results of dental care, while 42,4% showed a hostile result, these being, mostly female children gender. In school, only 24,5% children presented pleasant result and 75,5% showed hostile result, the absence of gender difference. It is concluded that there was a statistically significant difference among the groups, and female gender children showed up more aversive.

Taurodontism in dental genetics

Taurodontism is a dental anomaly defined by enlargement of the pulp chamber of multirooted teeth with apical displacement of the pulp floor and bifurcation of the roots. Taurodontism can be an isolated trait or part of a syndrome. A study was conducted to document the dental and craniofacial aspects of genetic thin bone disorders in South Africa. Sixty-four individuals with Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), one individual with Pyle disease and one with Torg-Winchester syndrome respectively, were assessed clinically, radiographically and at a molecular level. Ten patients with OI XI and those with Pyle disease and Torg-Winchester syndrome had taurodontism. Taurodontism has been identified in several genetic disorders necessitating cognizance of the possible existence and implications of this characteristic when managing patients in the dental environment. Further studies should be directed toward identifying the incidence, etiology, and molecular pathways leading to taurodontism and its relationship to genetic syndromes.

A Systematic Review on the Efficacy of Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide as a Non-Contact Decontamination System for Pathogens Associated with the Dental Environment

Aerosol generation and a wide range of pathogens originating from the oral cavity of the patient contaminate various surfaces of the dental clinic. The aim was to determine the efficacy of vaporized hydrogen peroxide fogging on pathogens related to the dental environment and its possible application in dentistry. PICOS statement (Population, Intervention, Comparison/Control, Outcome and Study design statement) was used in the review. Six electronic databases were searched for articles published from 2010 to 2020. Articles written in English reporting vaporized hydrogen peroxide on pathogens deemed to be relevant to the dental environment were assessed. The quality of the studies was assessed using the risk-of-bias assessment tool designed for the investigation of vaporized hydrogen peroxide application in dentistry. A total of 17 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The most commonly reported single bacterial pathogen was Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in five studies, and the viruses Feline calicivirus, Human norovirus, and Murine norovirus were featured in three studies. The results of the studies reporting the log kill were sufficient for all authors to conclude that vaporized hydrogen peroxide generation was effective for the assessed pathogens. The studies that assessed aerosolized hydrogen peroxide found a greater log kill with the use of vaporized hydrogen peroxide generators. The overarching conclusion was that hydrogen peroxide delivered as vaporized hydrogen peroxide was an effective method to achieve large levels of log kill on the assessed pathogens. The hydrogen peroxide vapor generators can play a role in dental bio-decontamination. The parameters must be standardized and the efficacy assessed to perform bio-decontamination for the whole clinic. For vaporized hydrogen peroxide generators to be included in the dental bio-decontamination regimen, certain criteria should be met. These include the standardization and efficacy assessment of the vaporized hydrogen peroxide generators in dental clinics.

Malocclusion and prematurity at birth.

Newborns birth prematurely correspond to births with less than 37 weeks of gestation. There are some characteristics intrinsic to the premature ones that act in the Stomatognathic System, triggering the malocclusion. The objective of this article was to investigate the influences that prematurity at birth can generate in a dental environment, more specifically, triggering malocclusion. We searched the databases: Google Scholar and PubMED. In Google Scholar we used the search term: premature birth and malocclusion and dentistry and 2014 and 2015 and 2016 and 2017 and 2018. In PubMED we used the search expression: malocclusion and dentistry and born preterm. It was concluded that, in order to avoid malocclusion, methods of preventive approach in preterm births are necessary to enable adequate growth and development of the stomatognathic system. The encouragement of breastfeeding is related to the influence of breastfeeding, since if it does not occur it can lead to changes in the stomatognathic system.