Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: Trauma to the permanent and deciduous incisors is an undesirable common event in childhood. Proper immediate management of injured teeth is depended on the knowledge of unprofessional people, including teachers, who are usually present at the scene prior to dental treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and self-reported practice of primary school teachers on the emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in Arak.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 624 primary school teachers were enrolled in census in Arak. An anonymous questionnaire containing demographic data, the history of previous exposure to traumatic dental injuries, teachers’ knowledge regarding emergency management of TDIs and their practice towards TDIs was used. Questionnaires were distributed among all participants and then were collected on the same day. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were performed to analyze the data.

Results: A total of 292 completed questionnaires (response rate 46.8%) were collected. The mean score of knowledge was 2.65±1.69 out of 10. The mean score of self-reported practice was 3.46±2.04 out of 8. Regarding the demographic variables, knowledge had a significant relationship with the education (P<0.001). No significant relationships were observed between the self-reported practice and demographic variables. The correlation coefficients between the knowledge scores and the practice scores of teachers was 0.2.

Conclusion: This study revealed that insufficient knowledge exists among primary school teachers on emergency management of TDIs. Furthermore, a high percentage of respondents enjoy a significant deficiency regarding favorable practice encountering TDIs.

Background and Aims: Children’s Fear Survey Schedule- Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) is considered as the most popular instrument available to assess dental fear in children. The aim of this study was to develop a Persian version of the CFSS-DS among 8-12 year-old female children resident in Tehran.
Materials and Methods: At first, the questionnaire was translated in Farsi and  back translated in English afterwards. While, the back translated version was confirmed, we considered the Persian version as the final instrument. Content validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed. We used test-retest method to evaluate the reliability, 287 female students aged 8 to 12 from 7 schools in 6^th district of education ministry of Tehran were interviewed two times with interval of seven days. In addition, the infraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and percentage of agreement were calculated. The score of dental fear was measured with range of 13 to 65 and changed to a number between 0 and 100. The relationship between dental fear score and the independent variables including age, history of hospitalization, last medical visit, and history of dental treatment were evaluated using the linear regression models.
Results: The mean score of dental fear was calculated 20.52. The score of dental fear was significantly associated with the last medical visit (P=0.04) and past dental history (P<0.001). The percentage of agreement was more than 80% for all the questions. In each question, Kappa was evaluated as moderate to good and ICC was good to very good (more than 0.4).
Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the Persian version of CFSS-DS was valid and reliable among 8-12 year-old children.

Background and Aims: Dental caries is a multifactorial and common disease that leads to a decrease in the quality of life of individuals. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between serum vitamin D and dental caries in the third year-to-last year students of dental school of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 123 dental students. Demographic and health information were completed through a checklist. The level of vitamin D in individuals was measured by blood sampling. We recorded caries by ICDAS (international caries detection and assessment system) in two levels of D(1-6)MFT (total of decayed, filled and missing tooth) and D(3-6)MFT (total of progressive decayed, filled and missing tooth). Data analysis was done by the SPSS package version 25 using statistical tests of correlation and regression.
Results: The results showed that the correlation coefficient between vitamin D and caries index D(1-6)MFT was -0.89 with a P-value of 0.3328 which was not statistically significant. Based on the backward logistic regression, there was a positive significant statistical association between the D(3-6)MFT with vitamin D deficiency (P<0.001), weight (P=0.012), dental visit (P=0.023) and frequency of sweet snack consumption (P=0.03). In addition a significant and inverse statistical association was reported between the D(3-6)MFT and milk consumption (P=0.026).
Conclusion: Among dentistry students, no relation between vitamin D deficiency and early stages of decay was seen, however this relation was statistically significant in regard with progressive dental caries.

Background and Aims: Considering the prevalence of periodontal disease in Iranian adults and its impact on general health and the role of medical practitioners, the purpose of the present study was to determine physician’s knowledge and attitude towards periodontal health.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2019 and after getting informed consent, a valid and reliable questionnaire was provided to medical practitioners in a continuing education course. Data were analyzed using the SPSS26 software.
Results: In total 170 subjects (response rate=95%) responded. The mean scores of knowledge and attitude towards periodontal health were 4.1 (maximum score of 6) and 51.9 (maximum score of 65), respectively. Work experience (P=0.022) and period of time after graduation (P=0.007) had a positive and significant relationship with participants' knowledge. Also, gender (P=0.012), work experience (P=0.002), period after graduation (P=0.005) and practitioner’s workplace (P=0.001) were significantly associated with their attitudes. The results showed that women had a better attitude towards prevention of gum disease.
Conclusion: In the present study, medical practitioners’ knowledge was good towards description of healthy periodontium and the first sign of periodontal diseas. Also, their attitudes regarding the importance of oral and dental diseases and its impact on social activities were appropriate. The results of the present study showed more emphasis is needed on delivering relevant dental education in medical curriculum.