Objectives Public mental health concerns have been raised during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the psychological impact of the pandemic on dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross‐sectional analytical study was conducted among dental students from different universities in Saudi Arabia selected using 2‐stage cluster sampling. The psychological impact was assessed using the validated Arabic version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 Item questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used as appropriate. A chi‐squared test was used to compare the proportions between the sociodemographic data and logistic regression analysis to identify variables associated with the student's responses. Results The internal consistency of the scale was excellent (0.954). A total of 697 dental students participated voluntarily in the study; their mean age was 21.76 ± 1.859 years, and 54.7% were female. The majority (96.1%) were single, and 69.4% lived in a household of > 5 persons. Significant differences in mental health outcomes were evident for gender, university, and survey time. Elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were recorded among 60.64%, 37.02%, and 34.92%, respectively, of the students. Females, students who lived alone, and junior students were more likely to experience psychological problems during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusions The presence of elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress among dental students highlights the need for psychological empowerment strategies involving institutional counseling services.

The orthodontists consistently and significantly downplayed the perceived benefit of orthodontic treatment to reduce TMD symptoms. Also, while there was a similarity in the diagnosis, there were notable differences in the proposed treatment approaches, perceived treatment need, and timing of intervention between the three groups of practitioners.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of dental anomalies and study the association of these anomalies with different types of malocclusion in a random sample of Saudi orthodontic patients. Materials and methods:Six hundred and two randomly selected pretreatment records including orthopantomographs (OPG), and study models were evaluated. The molar relationship was determined using pretreatment study models, and OPG were examined to investigate the prevalence of dental anomalies among the sample. Results:The most common types of the investigated anomalies were: impaction followed by hypodontia, microdontia, macrodontia, ectopic eruption and supernumerary. No statistical significant correlations were observed between sex and dental anomalies. Dental anomalies were more commonly found in class I followed by asymmetric molar relation, then class II and finally class III molar relation. No malocclusion group had a statistically significant relation with any individual dental anomaly.

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Orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning require careful evaluation of the patient's cephalometric values and comparison to known population cephalometric means or norms. Despite the availability of several published studies on Saudi cephalometric norms, Caucasian norms are still referred to when Saudi patients are treated. To reach a consensus between these studies and to establish more accurately cephalometric norms for Saudis, a meta-analysis of the relevant literature was performed. Electronic database (PubMed), Saudi Dental Journal and Master theses were searched for studies reporting cephalometric values of normal male and female Saudi adults with numerical data and 8 studies with a total sample size of 485 met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis with results from these studies was completed. The combined mean estimates and SD of common cephalometric measurements were calculated. The data included in this comprehensive meta-analysis were compared with Caucasian norms and results indicated that Saudis have distinct cephalometric features. Saudis tend to have slightly more convex profiles and more proclined incisors than the Caucasians. These findings confirm the previously published results and should serve as more accurate reference values that were drawn from a large sample size.