BackgroundStudents differ in their preferred methods of acquiring, processing, and recalling new information. The aim of this study was to investigate the learning style preferences of undergraduate dental students and examine the influence of gender, Grade Point Average (GPA), and academic year levels on these preferences.MethodsThe Arabic version of the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire was administered to 491 students from the first- to the fifth-year academic classes at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the learning styles of the students, and Chi-square test and Fisher’s test were used to compare the learning preferences between genders and among academic years. Significance was set at a p-value of <0.05.ResultsA total of 368 dental students completed the questionnaire. The multimodal learning style was preferred by 63.04% of the respondents, with the remaining 36% having a unimodal style preference. The aural (A) and the kinesthetic (K) styles were the most preferred unimodal styles. The most common style overall was the quadmodal (VARK) style with 23.64% having this preference. These differences did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05). Females were more likely to prefer a bimodal learning style over a unimodal style (relative risk =2.37). Students with a GPA of “C” were less likely to have a bimodal or a quadmodal style preference compared to students with a GPA of “A” (relative risk =0.34 and 0.36, respectively). Second-year students were less likely to prefer a bimodal over a unimodal style compared to first-year students (relative risk =0.34).ConclusionThe quadmodal VARK style is the preferred learning method chosen by dental students, followed by unimodal aural and kinesthetic styles. Gender was found to influence learning style preferences. Students with a “C” GPA tend to prefer unimodal learning style preferences. The VARK questionnaire is a relatively quick and simple tool to reveal the learning style preferences on an individual or a group level. Dental educators should adjust their delivery methods to approximate the learning preferences of their students. Dental students are encouraged to adapt a multimodal style of learning to improve their academic results.

ObjectiveThis study investigated the knowledge of Saudi mothers regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in children.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study using structured questionnaires was employed for mothers chosen by stratified-cluster random sampling technique from primary health care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a period of 12 months (July 2016–June 2017). The questionnaire surveyed mothers’ background and knowledge on management of tooth fracture and avulsion using photographs of TDI cases.ResultsThe sample consisted of 3,367 Saudi mothers. More than half of the mothers (55.3%) gave the correct response, which was to send the child with tooth fracture immediately to the dentist (p<0.01). The majority of mothers (41.6%) gave the correct response for the immediate mode of action, which was to save the avulsed tooth in storage medium and send the child to the dentist immediately (p<0.001). However, they prioritized the immediate management of TDIs, and most reported saline as a suitable storage medium (p<0.001). The mothers expressed a positive interest in further education.ConclusionEducational programs and TDI protocols must be implemented to increase mothers’ awareness and improve the prognosis of children with TDIs.

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.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of interventions to enhance adherence among orthodontic patients aged 12 to 18 years. Specific adherence outcomes included were recall of information given by the orthodontic team, attendance at orthodontic appointments, self-reported oral hygiene behavior, and clinical indexes of oral hygiene. Materials and Methods: Electronic searches of Medline via OVID (January 1, 1966 through March 1, 2012), EMBASE, and the Cochrane central register of control trials from its inception through March 2012, as well as a hand search, were undertaken to identify relevant studies. Results: Through the electronic searches, 381 article were identified. Initial screening of the abstracts and titles by all review authors identified 21 articles that met the inclusion criteria for this review. The full articles were then retrieved. Four randomized controlled trials were found, all of which used different methods of intervention: a system of rewards or awards, the Hawthorne effect, written information, and demonstration of the microbiology of plaque. All the interventions, except the use of award/reward, were associated with improvements in adherence. Conclusion:The literature advocates the use of several methods to improve compliance/ adherence among orthodontic patients. Although there is insufficient evidence to allow clinicians to choose a single method, the results demonstrate the value of spending time with patients to illustrate the importance of adherence. Future studies should develop multiple methods of assessing patient adherence, including self-report, behavioral observation and recording, and change in clinical indexes. Such studies should test different types of interventions for effectiveness. (Angle Orthod. 2015;85:305-313.)

PurposeThis study was designed to establish normal values for the nasal form and its relationship to the other cranial structures among male and female skeletal class I Saudi adults. The results of males and females were compared to each other and to the results of a previous study using the same analysis method.Patients and methodsSixty-two lateral cephalometric radiographs of Saudi subjects (32 females and 30 males) were retrospectively retrieved from the orthodontic clinical data. Their ages ranged from 20 to 24 years old. All of the cephalometric radiographs were traced manually.ResultsThere were statistically significant differences between the Saudi males and females in the nasal length, nasolabial angle, horizontal distance from the nose tip to the incisal edge of the most prominent upper central incisor, and chin. The Saudi males had longer dorsa and increased vertical distances from the pronasale to the chin when compared to the females. The Saudi females had longer vertical distances from the pronasale to the upper lip and larger nasolabial angles when compared to the males. The Saudi males and females had longer noses, longer dorsa, more curved noses (larger supratip break angles), and increased horizontal distances between the nose tip and the chin when compared to a New Zealand sample. The New Zealand sample had increased nasolabial angles, increased nasal tip projection angles, noses significantly projected from the upper lip, the most prominent central incisors, and more prominent maxillae when compared to the Saudi sample.ConclusionThere were significant differences between the Saudi males and females, as well as between the Saudi sample and the New Zealand sample. These results suggest that both gender and ethnicity must be taken into account when establishing normal values for the nasal form and its relationship to the other cranial structures.