Background The purpose of this study evaluates and compares the effect of surface roughness (Ra) and color stability on computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) hybrid resin (Vita Enamic), feldspathic (Vitablocs® Mark II), and lithium disilicate Zirconia (Vita Suprinity) glazed or polished ceramics immersed in hot Arabic Qahwa and cold coffee. Methods A total of 96 standardized samples were prepared from CAD/CAM restorative materials. Half of the samples were polished as per the manufacturer’s instructions using a porcelain polishing kit, and the other half were glazed. Samples were distributed and immersed in hot Arabian Qahwa and cold coffee followed by thermocycling. Ra measurements and color changes were conducted before and after immersion. SEM images were captured from each type of glazed or polished ceramic. One-way ANOVA paired Student’s t-test, and Bonferroni test were conducted to detect significant difference between the groups. P > 0.05 was a significant level. Results Of all the tested samples, Ra increased without any significant difference; however, mean color changes (ΔE*) showed significant differences. An increase in Ra was noted for all the glazed and polished samples after immersion and thermocycling. However, differences were significant only in VM II. In addition, ΔE* was significant only in Vita Suprinity (VS) samples. For immersion groups, significant Ra changes were noticed in glazed samples, only in Vita Enamic (VE) with no ΔE*. In polished samples, mean Ra changes were observed in VM II and VS samples. Significant differences were also noticed in polished VE and VS subgroups of ΔE*. Conclusions Ra affects all the tested samples, providing higher values on the polished specimens. The ΔE* caused by hot Arabic Qahwa and cold coffee on glazed or polished CAD/CAM restorative materials were clinically acceptable.

Background and Objectives: Khat chewing is considered as a daily habit that is practiced by more than five million people globally. The effect of khat chewing on the surface roughness and the color stability of natural teeth and the material used in the fabrication of dental prosthesis remains unknown. This study was conducted to explore and compare the effect of khat homogenate (KH) on the surface roughness (Ra) and the average color changes (ΔE*) amongst natural teeth and selected shades from different porcelain types, namely, feldspathic metal ceramic (MC) VM13, computer-aided design/computer assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) feldspathic (Vitablocs Mark II), and multilayer zirconia (Ceramill Zolid PS) porcelains. Materials and Methods: Seventy samples were prepared from natural teeth, feldspathic MC, CAD/CAM Vitablocs Mark II, and zirconia porcelain. The Ra values were measured using a profilometer and expressed in micrometers, whereas the ΔE* values were measured using VITA Easyshade® V spectrophotometer for all samples before and after frequent immersion and thermocycling in KH for 30 days. The surface topography was used to assess the materials surfaces (glazed or polished) after KH immersion by using a white light interferometry machine. Results: Results revealed that the Ra and the ΔE* values of the different types of tested porcelain were influenced by KH. The order of surface roughness values was glazed or polished MC > polished Zircon > polished Vitablocs Mark II > natural teeth. The lowest ΔE* values were recorded for glazed Vitablocs Mark II and MC, and the values could be arranged as polished zircon > natural teeth > glazed zircon > polished MC > polished Vitablocs Mark II. P values were significantly varied (<0.001) among all the tested groups, except the zircon group (>0.05) for both Ra and ΔE*. Conclusions: KH significantly affected both surface parameter and color of glazed or polished porcelain materials and natural teeth.

Background: The Educational Environment (EE) has an extremely important role in effective student learning. The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is a validated and widely tool to assess the EE in health and particularly in dental professional education programs. Objective: This study aimed to compare male and female dental students' perception regarding DREEM inventory of EE in Jazan University. A cross-sectional questionnaire included questions on demographic information and the DREEM of EEs. Methods: DREEM was used to gather information from our BDS students’ program about the environment in our institution. The data were selected from 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th year students. Data from 330 participants were distributed manually. Other factors such as type of graduated school, level of education, student’s GPA, and monthly income of family were assessed. All the data were analyzed. Results: 286 (86%) of the students completed and returned the DREEM questionnaires. There was no statistically significant difference between genders with respect to mean scores of perceptions of learning. Also, there was a significant difference in terms of educational level, but no significant differences were observed in the DREEM subscales. The average overall DREEM score of the study subjects indicated a positive learning perception of 130.8 for males and 130.2 for females. The subscale for both genders involved students’ perception of learning as 32.1, the students’ perception of teaching as 29.1, while the students’ academic self-perception was 21.7. The students’ self-perception of atmosphere was 30.0 while students’ social self-perception accounted for 17.5. Conclusion: Both gender students recorded positive values of the learning environment. Further, a qualitative investigation is recommended to be done on every single course to evaluate the changes and make necessary alterations.

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Background and objectives Polyvinyl ether siloxane (PVES) possesses ideal characteristics for making precise and accurate dental impressions. PVES dimensional stability owes to its better polymeric properties derived from its parent materials poly ethers and polyvinyl siloxanes. As recommended use of chemical disinfecting agents is getting more popular, there is a growing concern associated with the effect of disinfectants on PVES dimensional stability. This study was aimed to understand the PVES behavior when subjected to chemical disinfectants. Materials and methodology The data was collected from research studies retrieved from Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed using MeSH terms of keywords “vinyl polyether siloxane AND Disinfection” or (Vinyl polyether siloxane OR polyvinyl siloxane ether OR PVES) AND (disinfectant OR disinfection)” without any restriction to publication date. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis) directions were observed during the data collection, screening of studies, and meta-analysis. The primary data were retrieved, and batch exported from databases using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software; primary analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel, while statistical analysis for effect size, two-tailed p-values, and heterogeneity among studies was performed using Meta Essentials. The effect size was calculated using Hedge’s g values at the 95% confidence level using the random-effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was measured using the Cochrane Q and I2. Results and conclusion Dental impressions made from the PVES elastomeric impression materials showed no significant changes in dimensional stability. Immersion in the chemical disinfectant for 10 min was associated with clinically irrelevant changes in the dimensions of the PVES impressions. Disinfection with sodium hypochlorite was associated with clinically significant changes in dimensions, with a two-tailed p-value of 0.049. Disinfection with 2–2.5% glutaraldehyde solution was not associated with any significant dimensional variability.

Studies on biofilm-related infections are gaining prominence owing to their involvement in most clinical infections and seriously threatening global public health. A biofilm is a natural form of bacterial growth ubiquitous in ecological niches, considered to be a generic survival mechanism adopted by both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms and entailing heterogeneous cell development within the matrix. In the ecological niche, quorum sensing is a communication channel that is crucial to developing biofilms. Biofilm formation leads to increased resistance to unfavourable ecological effects, comprising resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial agents. Biofilms are frequently combated with modern conventional medicines such as antibiotics, but at present, they are considered inadequate for the treatment of multi-drug resistance; therefore, it is vital to discover some new antimicrobial agents that can prevent the production and growth of biofilm, in addition to minimizing the side effects of such therapies. In the search for some alternative and safe therapies, natural plant-derived phytomedicines are gaining popularity among the research community. Phytomedicines are natural agents derived from natural plants. These plant-derived agents may include flavonoids, terpenoids, lectins, alkaloids, polypeptides, polyacetylenes, phenolics, and essential oils. Since they are natural agents, they cause minimal side effects, so could be administered with dose flexibility. It is vital to discover some new antimicrobial agents that can control the production and growth of biofilms. This review summarizes and analyzes the efficacy characteristics and corresponding mechanisms of natural-product-based antibiofilm agents, i.e., phytochemicals, biosurfactants, antimicrobial peptides, and their sources, along with their mechanism, quorum sensing signalling pathways, disrupting extracellular matrix adhesion. The review also provides some other strategies to inhibit biofilm-related illness. The prepared list of newly discovered natural antibiofilm agents could help in devising novel strategies for biofilm-associated infections.

Introduction:The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) among undergraduate medical students in the presence of khat chewing over a period of time. Materials and methods:Totally, 186 medical college students (age ≤ 20 years) were randomly selected for the present study. The study subjects were divided into two groups according to age, under 20 and above 20 years. The study was based on Fonseca's anamnestic index and its questionnaire, which is composed of 10 questions and classifies the severity of TMDs. The obtained data were coded and entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program for analysis using chi-square test at significance level of 5%. Results:Most of the participants were male (68.8%) students and older than 20 years (63% Corresponding Author: Mohammed M Al Moaleem, Department of Prosthetics, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, e-mail: drmoaleem2014@gmail.com comprised 31.7%. From the total samples, only 38.0% was classified as having mild TMD and 0.50% were classified as having severe TMD. Poor dental articulation, grinding of teeth, headaches, tense personalities, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clicking were the most common clinical findings. The mean scores showed no significant difference among gender (p ≤ 0.29) and the khat chewing (p ≤ 0.531) groups for the 10 questions. However, it showed significant difference among age groups (p ≤ 0.025). Conclusion:The majority of subjects complained of mild TMD, while only a few cases showed a moderate TMD among different age groups. The most frequently reported dysfunctions were related to poor dental articulation and grinding of the teeth, frequent headaches, the clicking of joint, and tense personalities. No significant difference was found between gender and khat and nonkhat chewing groups.Clinical significance: Khat chewing is a parafunctional habit and affects dental occlusion (especially cuspal wear) in terms of anterior guidance. Such alterations in occlusion are known to be one of the causative (predisposing) factors of TMD.

The COVID-19 epidemic has affected not only people’s daily lives but also the working methods of clinicians, surgical procedures, open/minimally invasive procedures, operating room management, patient and healthcare worker safety, education and training. The main objective of this study was to review selected articles and determine the changes in the general surgery protocols/procedures before and after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature was carried out in PubMed-Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus and Google Scholar. The terms utilised for the searches were “SARS-CoV-2”, “Surgery”, “COVID-19”, “Surgical protocol”, “Surgical recommendations” and “before and after”. A total of 236 studies were identified, out of which 41 studies were included for data extraction. Significant changes in all the articles were observed with respect to the surgeries done before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the number of elective surgeries were considerably fewer in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, hospitals all throughout the world have conducted significantly fewer procedures, particularly elective/non-urgent surgeries.