Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: The emergence of social web and impact on the communication of the individuals and the scientific activities of various communities has created serious research links among researchers. This issue that how Iranian researchers keep up to date themselves with new technologies and use them to engage in scientific issues has been a challenge that is constantly being addressed in the digital world. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the scientific production of dentistry in Tehran University of Medical Sciences in the networks of ResearchGate and Mendeley using the Scopus citation database between 2015 and 2016.
Materials and Methods: The study population included all scientific articles in the field of dentistry of Tehran University of Medical Sciences which were indexed in Scopus database between 2013-2016. The results were presented using descriptive statistics in the form of charts and tables.
Results: In this study, it was determined that the scientific outputs of the researchers from Tehran University of Medical Sciences increased in 2015 and 2016. It was also found that the coverage of articles in the field of dentistry published by researchers at Tehran Medical Sciences Universities in the Scopus citation database in the mentioned years, were in a good position in both the Mendeley and ResearchGate networks. In addition, the number of references to the articles by researchers at Tehran University of Medical Sciences on the ResearchGate network in the field of dentistry was more than the Mendeley network.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the performance of the researchers of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in the field of oral and dental care and the extent of their coverage in the social networks of ResearchGate and Mendeley was high and desirable.

Background and Aims: Today, smoking is recognized as a major health problem and an impediment to development in many developing countries. This is the reason of early deaths and disabilities which leads to death of about 4 million people around the globe annually. This study aimed at assessing the awareness and attitude among the students last years dental at Yazd Shahid Sadooghi Medical School in providing consultation for giving up smoking.
Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive sectional study that evaluated the awareness and attitudes of students last years dental at school of dentistry. Data was collected through standard questionnaires and were analyzed by T test and Pierson correlation coefficient in SPSS18 software.
Results: A total of 110 students participated in this study. Awareness mean's score of female students was 18.38 and male students 17.66. The attitude mean's score of female students was 31.06 and the male students was 32.45. Based on the correlation coefficient of awareness with age (0.112), with the semester (-0.001) and with a GPA (0.76), it was concluded that awareness with increasing age and GPA increased, and with increasing semester decreases. Also, based on the correlation coefficient of attitude with age (0.013), with the academic semester (0.018) and with a GPA (0.008), it was concluded that attitude with increasing age, semester, and GPA was improved.
Conclusion: Despite the relatively good attitude of dental students about smoking cessation counseling, their awareness was poor. Therefore, the need to revise the education programs and steps in the field of training are required.

Background and Aims: Advances of genetic science in genomic techniques have led introducing new diagnostic systems to study the diseases or treatment efficacies. In this science, which named “Personalized Medicine”, human genetic structure is used for evaluation of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Regarding the limited number of studies regarding this issue in Oral & Maxillofacial diseases, this study was aimed to evaluate the benefits and challenges of this new area (Personalized Medicine) in dental treatments.
Materials and Methods: In this study, complete evaluation of abilities and challenges in order to apply the “Personalized Dentistry” in Dental treatments, and also its effect on oral health indexes were done. All the existing related articles were searched with the relevant key words in the scientific data bases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, Scopus, SID and Magiran. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 5 articles were selected, assessed and summarized.
Results: In the evaluated articles, the benefits of “Personalized Dentistry” in dental treatments as targeted and specialized treatment could result in lower time, energy and cost. In addition, its disadvantage as unknown biologic effective factors and also, the cross effects of some of the above items on each other and the treatment procedures were mentioned.
Conclusion: Regarding the specialized sciences and diagnostic tools for oral & maxillofacial disease, the benefits of “Personalized Dentistry” application can be increased for special treatments of patients. Also, it could reduce the side effects of conventional therapies and thus, could be introduced as an effective step for better dental treatments.

Background and Aims: Anxiety is a common problem in patients referred to dental clinics that is associated with underlying personality factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of personality traits in predicting dental anxiety.
Materials and Methods: In this study, 211 patients (110 men and 101 women) referred to the dental clinics in Tabriz in 2019, were selected by available sampling method. The method of this study is descriptive- correlative. The research instrument was a short-form NEO-personality inventory and a dental anxiety inventory. Data were analyzed by correlation and regression analysis using SPSS22.
Results: The research findings showed that the average age of women and men was 30 and 31 years, respectively. 49% of the clients were single and 51% were married, and the education of most of the clients was undergraduate. Also, Regression analysis showed that dental anxiety had a positive correlation with personality trait of neuroticism (r=-0.49, P<0.01), and it had a negative relationship with extroversion (r=-0.19, P<0.05), agreeableness (r=-0.21, P<0.01), consciences (r=-0.35, P<0.01); and two factors of neuroticism (t=4.71, P<0.01) and conscience (t=2.44, P<0.01), and predicted dental anxiety (P<0.05).
Conclusion: From the results, it can be concluded that anxiety with a sense of danger that was observed in many people in the face of dental interventions, occurred within individuals. By recognizing root factors, it can be partly strengthened by deterrent and suppressor personality factors for anxiety, and thus, taking advantages of the dental services and preventing from avoiding dental treatments.

Background and Aims: Interest and satisfaction of students toward their field of study has important role in knowledge promotion, future activities, and also healthcare of country. This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of dental students toward their field of study and also their future career.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was based on a standardized researcher designed questionnaire in 2018. Demographic data was collected and questions were based on the attitude of students toward their field of study and their future. ANOVA and Backward stepwise regression methods were used for statistical analysis. Significance level was determined at 0.05.
Results: In this study 62.2% of responders were female and 37.8% were males. Students chose dentistry under the influence of following matters consecutively: high income, recommendation of people around and self-interest. Girls compared to boys, were significantly influenced more by self-interest and also had more interest compared to boys for working in dentistry (P<0.05). Also, most of students were anxious about the increase in the number of dental students.
Conclusion: Students had positive attitude toward their field of study and their future. They were interested in working in this field but factors such as not having enough familiarity toward this field and also an increase in the number of students in recent years created some worries for them.

Background and Aims: Regarding the need for social accountability in dental education, community-based dental courses has been established to improve the oral health of the community and compensate the shortcomings of the health system. Due to the importance of evaluation, the aim of this study was to determine the dental students’ attitudes and believes in the last year of their study towards the community-based dental education.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 159 dental students in the sixth year (October and February, 2018) of Isfahan dental school by census. These students took the relevant questionnaire, which was developed by researchers in three sections of “attitudes toward field activities”, “lessons and experiences of field activities during dentistry training” and “barriers and problems of field activities”. Its content and face validity was confirmed. They completed it on their own and after collecting information and descriptive analyzes, the relationship between the gender and entry group with attitude scores was analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test.
Results: Out of a total of 102 questionnaires which were answered (response rate of 64%), half of the students believed in the need to provide dental services in the form of mobile/outreach services for the community. 90% of the students agreed with the combination of field education with routine education in the dental schools. They also considered these services as an opportunity to use their experiences and knowledge to promote oral health in the community. 84% of them believed that their self confidence improved while providing services outside the faculty. In many of the propositions in the field of attitude to provide service in the field, a significant percentage (50 to 60%) did not have an opinion.
Conclusion: There was a good and positive aspects in many areas of attitude toward providing services in social fields as well as attitude towards the lessons learned from community-based dental education. However, we should consider the attitude-emotional aspects of educational objectives in the community-based courses in dental schools.

Background and Aims: A significant percentage of children with dental caries require, hospital dentistry and their parents do not have much information in this regard. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of pediatricians in hospital dentistry in Isfahan Province.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 pediatricians working in Isfahan. The self-administered questionnaire included demographics of doctors and 19 questions for assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of pediatric practitioners about hospital dentistry under general anesthesia. Raw data were analyzed by Chi-square test using SPSS software version 23.
Results: 100 pediatricians with an average age of 44.1±5.7 years (57% male) completed the questionnaire. 53% of the pediatricians had a high level of awareness about hospital dentistry and 42% about its related guides. 66% practitioners had a favorable attitude toward general anesthesia and costs, while 71% considered the parents' awareness were poor about hospital dentistry. Only 43% of pediatricians performed oral examinations in their daily visits, and 17% had a referral for hospital dentistry. Male pediatricians aged from 35 to 45 had a higher level of knowledge about hospital dentistry. The attitude and practice of pediatricians did not have a significant relationship with their age. Meanwhile, male pediatricians had better performance in oral and dental examination and referral for hospital dentistry (P=0.15).
Conclusion: From the results of this study, there is a need for a serious improvement in the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of pediatricians in the field of hospital dentistry.

Background and Aims: Human ergonomics or engineering with proper design and change of work and requirements creates the most productivity based on human physiology. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of awareness of dental students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences about the basic principles of ergonomics in dentistry.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical, sectional study, a questionnaire containing 10 questions was distributed and completed by easy sampling method among 74 final year students of the general doctorate of Isfahan school of dentistry. After collecting the questionnaires, the students were given an educational pamphlet. To evaluate the questionnaires, each correct answer was given a score of one and the wrong answers were given a score of zero. Data were analyzed by T-test, Kai Square, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests using SPSS23 software. P<0.05 was considered as a significant level. P<0.05 was considered as a significant level.
Results: The average score of the knowledge of principles of ergonomics was intermediate (6.23±1.25). Student knowledge was not significantly different based on the student gender (P=0.25) and academic semester (P=0.059). Also, 55% of students had a history of muscle pain that did not have a significant relationship with gender (P=0.258) and average score of the knowledge (P=0.288).
Conclusion: Unfortunately, ergonomics cannot be considered part of the principles of dental education and even later. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common complaints of dentists and is a factor in reducing their quality and function. Therefore, it seems that training and evaluation of ergonomic principles in dental education is necessary.

Conclusion: The trend of publishing scientific articles in Iran in the field of dentistry has been increasing during the selected period. The keywords oral, dental, and pediatric surgery have the most effective and decisive role in the scientific network of dentistry. These keywords provided strong scientific communication amongst the dental scholars in Iran.

Background and Aims: The stress, job satisfaction and depression can affect the performance of dental professionals in various fields. The aim of present study was to examin the level of stress, depression and job satisfaction among different specialized fields of dentistry in Zanjan provinc, Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the depression, anxiety and stress scale questionnaire (DASS-21) and the Herzberg questionnaire were used to assess job satisfaction. The questionnaires were completed on the web, and the relevant link was sent to all specialists in different fields of dentistry in Zanjan province. Finally, 33 people participated in the study. Data were analyzed after appropriate code allocation using independent T-test and U-Mann Whitney tests and SPSS16.
Results: The results showed the mean of stress (24.4), depression (17.48) and anxiety (13.28) among specialists. The mean of stress and anxiety among female dentists was higher than male specialists, but there was no significant difference between these two variables between the two sexes (P>0.05). In terms of job satisfaction, 21.2% were dissatisfied with their job. By gender, 26.6% of female specialists and 16.7% of male specialists were dissatisfied with their jobs.
Conclusion: Despite the general perception that work conditions are suitable for dental specialists, these people suffer from the stresses, anxiety and depression and may not be satisfied with their job. As these conditions can affect the performance of these people in the workplace, it would be necessary to take measures, to identify, and to increase mental health and job satisfaction.

Background and Aims: Due to the review of general dental courses, it was necessary to assess the students' satisfaction with this curriculum. The aim of this study was the assessment level of students’satisfaction with the new educational curriculum of the Ministry of Health at the department of restorative dentistry of Tehran university of medical sciences in 2019-2020.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional trial,72 sixth year dental students of Tehran University who passed the restorative dentistry courses based on the new curriculum were studied. A questionnaire was developed and for validity content assessment, it was presented to 5 professors and then revised. For reliability approval of the questionnaire, test-retest approach was used. The questionnaire was given to the 30 students of the main pilot group in one session and two-week later and agreement percentage and Kappa index were calculated.  After conducting the "test" process and re-testing, the "questions" were statistically analyzed using STATA software.
Results: The most level of satisfaction regarding to practicality of subjects was found for fundamental of restorative dentistry including principles of amalgam class I cavity preparations and restorations on the dentic (81.94% and 76.39% acceptable respectively) and the principles of amalgam classII cavity restorations on the dentic (72.22%). The least satisfaction levels were obsereved in the first and second theoretical restorative courses including tooth-colored restorations (47.22%), onlays and inlays (47.22%) and tooth-colored classII cavity preparations and restorations (48.61%). The amount (P-value or error of the first type) was reported in all questions>0.001.
Conclusion: Despite the limitation of this study, final-year dental students’ satisfaction of theoretical restorative dentistry courses was medium, while it was high for the fundamental and practical restorative courses of 2017 educational curriculum.

Background and Aims: Studies have shown that dental anxiety may be caused by various factors such as child mood, age, maternal emotional maturity, previous dental anxiety and parenting styles. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between the parenting styles and pediatric dental anxiety and the predictability of this variable through parenting styles.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional correlational study. The study population was children aged 7 to 12 years who had referred to the dental clinics of Tehran in 1400. Sampling from one of the clinics was done randomly. A total of 100 questionnaires of modified child dental anxiety scale and parenting style inventory were given to the children and their parents and 95 of them could have been analyzed. The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS22 software and Pearson correlation and regression tests.
Results: The results showed that dental anxiety had a negative and significant relationship with authoritative parenting style (r=-0.286, P<0.01) and a positive and significant relationship with authoritarian parenting style (r=0.342, P<0.01). Authoritarian parenting style can be a predictor of dental anxiety.
Conclusion: Knowing the predictors of dental anxiety can help a pediatric dentist analysing who is most prone to dental anxiety. Based on this approach, a relationship based on trust can be established between the dentist and parents to make the necessary recommendations to parents in the office, reduce dental anxiety and improve oral health conditions in children.
 

Background and Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is widely used in dentistry in addition to numerous other sectors that impact human life, including medicine. A dentist can use AI technology to analyze patient data, diagnostic processes, and management activities. This study was conducted in Iran to identify the dental applications of AI and prioritize them.
Materials and Methods: In the winter of 2022, this applied research was carried out in two stages using a mixed method. In the qualitative phase, 570 articles from 2011 to 2022 were identified in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar among the studies in the field of dentistry and related to artificial intelligence technology based on keywords and then the applications of artificial intelligence in dentistry were extracted. In the quantitative phase, the identified applications prioritized by a group of experts comprised 13 University faculty members with related research areas using the best-worst method (BWM).
Results: The factors identified in the first stage of research were classified into six categories: implant and surgery, executive management, disease diagnosis, analysis of images, clinical prediction, and orthodontics. According to the experts’ opinion, it was determined that medical photo analysis had the highest coefficient of importance (0.252) followed by orthodontics (0.234), disease diagnosis (0.151), implantology and surgery (0.143), clinical forecasts (0.127), and executive management (0.093).
Conclusion: Dentists can use the capabilities of artificial intelligence in examining patients' teeth and diagnostic tests in dentistry based on the analysis of patient information. Information technology policymakers with the support and reinforcement of knowledge-based companies active in the field of artificial intelligence and joint investment in the field of medicine can be the basis for progress and the development of this technology in the country and the field of treatment.

Background and Aims: One of the concerns of dentists is selecting a suitable brand of stainless steel crowns with maximum dimensional adaptation with primary teeth. The aim of this study was to compare the primary molar crown dimensions with that of two brands of stainless steel crowns (SSCs) in a sample of Iranian children.
Materials and Methods:  In this study, 130 eligible children between 3 and 12 years (66 boys, 64 girls) were selected. After recording the demographic information, the mesiodistal, buccolingual and occluso-gingival dimensions of first (D) and second (E) primary molars were measured on dental casts and compared with the dimensions of KTR (MeiMeiMinBenjing, Benjing, China) and Shinghung (Shinhungcompany, Seoul, South Korea) SSCs. Data were assessed using chi-square test and Pearson correlation coefficient. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: In this study, the most dimension matching of the teeth with that of SSCs were observed mesiodistally in upper D and lower D, buccolingualy in the upper D and lower D, and occluso-gingivaly in upper D and lower E. The most cases of mismatch in the mesiodistal dimensions of the teeth with that of SSCs were observed in the lower E and upper D. Also, the most cases of mismatch in the buccolingual dimension were found for upper E and lower E.
Conclusion: Both SSCs brands in this study showed significant dimensional adaptation with the primary teeth in Iranian children. The most dimensional adaptation was between KTR SSCs and maxillary primary molars, and between Shinhung SSCs and mandibular primary molars.

Background and Aims: Numerous researches have been conducted in the field of dental public health in the country so far, and therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of studies conducted in this field in terms of quantity and coverage of different subjects.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 4 phases in Iran in 2023. The initial phase or the comparative study was to extract the doamins and sub-domains related to the dental public health studies, types of the research dissemination models, and the list of researchers in this field. The second phase included holding virtual Delphi meetings with researchers to finalize the information collecting checklists including the domains and sub-domains. In a virtual group of about 140 researchers, the domains and their proposed sub-domains were discussed and revisions continued until consensus was reached. In the third phase, the necessary data were collected and entered into the forms. The main source for data collection was google scholar profile. The final phase included the design of the system in the Access program for archiving and classifying information with the ability to search and report. Finally, the frequency and relative frequency of research titles were categorized according to the topic and the university conducting the research and the reports presented in the form of graphs and tables.
Results: Based on the first and second phases of the study, the selected model had 6 domains and 11 sub-domains. Epidemiology with the largest share (35%) was first rank, and the health system (30%) and health promotion (19%) ranked second and third, respectively. Ethics (1%) was at the lowest rank. Universities of Tehran (33%), Isfahan (25%) and Shahid Beheshti (22%) had the most publications in the field of community oral health. In the domian of epidemiology, oral health surveys with 204 articles (74%) and oral health risk factors with 69 articles (26%) were the highest number of published articles.
Conclusion: Some sub-domains of the community oral health filed are not well covered that might interrupt their application to improve the oral health situation in the country.

Background and Aims: Today's working conditions in medical sciences, including dentistry, are changing rapidly. The explosion of scientific information on the one hand and the increase in consumer awareness on the other hand, along with the ever-increasing advances in artificial intelligence and access to the internet and the wide information network, has made health service providers face complex and different conditions. One of the ways to properly respond to the treatment needs of patients is to benefit from the best available evidence and clinical experience and to pay attention to the values and preferences of patients, which is manifested in the form of evidence-based practice. Dentists as members of the group of health service providers, must be familiar with evidence-based dental concepts and procedures and use them in their professional performance. This article discusses the steps of evidence-based dentistry to help empower dentists in the field of clinical decision-making based on the latest research benefiting from the best evidence and improving their clinical practice.
Materials and Methods: To find relevant articles in the field of evidence-based dentistry, PubMed scientific database and Google Scholar search engine were searched from 2000 to 2023 with keywords of Evidence-based dentistry, clinical practice, and decision making. Among the articles searched based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 15 articles in English whose main topic was evidence-based dentistry with an educational approach were selected and used to describe evidence-based dentistry and its components.
Conclusion: Due to the complexity of patients' issues and their increasing awareness, it is essential for dentists to possess specialized skills to meet patients' needs in accordance with their expectations and values, while also utilizing research findings.

Background and Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in various fields, including orthodontics. AI has demonstrated encouraging results in enhancing diagnostic precision, treatment decision, and outcome prediction. With the accessibility of different AI software, its utilization in orthodontics has grown significantly. In this review study, we examined various applications of artificial intelligence within the field of orthodontics.
Materials and Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in the PubMed database using the keywords; “Orthodontics” and “Artificial intelligence” between 2020 and 2025. 643 articles were found in the initial search. After eliminating articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 293 articles remained for full-text review, and finally 38 articles were included in our review to obtain a comprehensive review of the applications of artificial intelligence in orthodontics.
Results: Today, artificial intelligence has been used in different stages of orthodontic treatment, including diagnosis, decision making, outcome prediction and education. It has shown high accuracy in many areas, including cephalometric analysis and treatment planning. However, enhancements are necessary in certain aspects, particularly in space analysis and the prediction of treatment outcomes.
Conclusion: Conducting systematic reviews focusing on each of these applications can provide a better perspective for clinicians to use this technology in their everyday practice.

Background and Aims: Educational planning is one of the main areas of education and training, which plays an essential role in the optimal training of human resources. The aim of this study was to compare the educational program (curriculum) of general dentistry in Iran with that of several prestigious dental schools in the Middle East countries.
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive comparative study using the dental education curricula of six prominent countries in the Middle East in the field of dental sciences. Their selection was based on similarities and common cultural, economic and social characteristics. After collecting the selected curriculums, four steps including description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison were done. Tables were drawn based on goals such as the number of years of education, mission, general goals, and the role of graduates in the medical system of that country.
Results: The educational curriculum of the countries reviewed in the Middle East have many similarities in terms of the number of years of study in the field of dentistry, the general mission and goals, and the role of students in the medical system of that country. The main differences were in the number and type of teaching units in the curriculum of this countries. The method of teaching and the distribution of topics in the curricula of the countries differentiated them from each other. According to the results of this study, the curriculum of the countries of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the most similar among the countries of the Middle East. The teaching method and distribution of topics in the curricula of countries distinguished them from each other.
Conclusion: Countries that are based on Russian language education have a shorter number of years of education and are similar to Russia. However, countries with an American educational base such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and even Iran have a longer academic years and more general similarities in educational content.

Background and Aims: Oral self-care among health care workers not only increases the oral health of individuals and their patients, but also improves the society's understanding of the prevention methods of oral disease. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the oral self-care and compare it among dentistry, nursing, and midwifery students.
Materials and Methods: In this cross- sectional study in 2023, the HU-DBI questionnaire (Hiroshima University Dental Behavior Inventory) was applied to compare the oral self-care status among the first and final year students of dentistry, nursing, and midwifery. Volunteer students entered the study by a census sampling method. Data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney tests (P<0.05).
Results: In total, 348 students including 67% women participated in the study. No significant differences in the  mean score of oral self-care were found (P=0.676) among the first-year dental students (5.01±1.71), nursing students (4.81 ±1.81), and midwifery students (4.79±1.63). The mean scores of oral self-care among the final-year students in dentistry, nursing, and midwifery were 6.71±1.59, 5.13±1.62, and 5.17±1.61, respectively. Dental students had a significantly higher score of oral self-care (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Oral self-care among medical students in Azad University of Isfahan was average. Although, dental students revealed a higher level of self-care compared to the nursing and midwifery students, more training in this field is necessary.