Most respondents stated that they began to brush their teeth at the age of 4, while a smaller number linked beginning of tooth brushing to the start of school. The parents more often help the boys during tooth brushing. A total of 54.9% of children brush their teeth after every meal, while 40.1% of them brush teeth only once during the day. Twelve year olds brush their teeth more often, especially after a meal. A total of 92.5% of children had never used fluoride tablets nor are the tablets recommended to them by anyone. More than half of the children (61.7%) visited the dentist for the first time before starting school that is on the regular examination that is performed upon enrollment to school. A pain as a reason for dental visits was present in 43.9%, while the preventive check in only 31.4% of the children. CONCLUSION; Children included in this study, particularly 15-year-olds, are quite well informed about teeth brushing frequency and proper selection of tools for hygiene maintenance, but this knowledge is not applied. Girls are more responsible for their own health, and come regularly to the preventive dental checkups.

Introduction. The problem of chronic diseases such as caries is very complex because it appears very early in life, often during childhood. The number of involved people is growing as well as the number of affected teeth and surfaces that eventually lead to teeth loss. The aim of this study was to determine the dental status of adolescents age 12 and 15 in three municipalities in Bosnia, Foca, Cajnice and Kalinovik. Material and methods. The study included 506 school children both genders of six schools in three municipalities (Foca, Cajnice and Kalinovik). Teeth examination and criteria for diagnosis and coding were estimated based of criteria of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD). To estimate dental health DMFT index [number of carious teeth (D), missing (M) and filled teeth (F)] and related indices (Person Caries Index, Teeth Caries Index, Average Caries Index and DMFT structure) were used. Results. Dental health status and caries prevalence were presented through the values of the Average Caries Index. The value of Average Caries Index for examined children was 6.17. Of all examined children 96.05% of them had at least one carious tooth. The average value of Teeth Caries Index was 23.04%. Conclusion. Dental health of the children in the examined region was characterized by high values of untreated carious teeth as well as the other components of DMFT index. Therefore, preventive measures and primary dental care must be implemented better among school children

A total of 12.8% of the examinees with MIH is not to be disregarded. With timely diagnosis, prevention and therapy complications could be avoided or mitigated.

Introduction: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and is a serious global health problem. Hepatitis C infection is highly prevalent in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD), due to frequent exposure to blood and blood products, nosocomial transmission of HCV, and prolong hemodialysis duration. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of IL-33/ST2 signaling pathway on severity of the liver disease in ESRD HCV+ patients. Methodology: Blood samples from patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) and hepatitis C infection (HCV), 20 patients with HCV infection, 20 patients with ESRD and 20 healthy control donor patients were taken for the examination of biochemical parameters, for the determination of the serum cytokine concentration, and for the molecular diagnostics of HCV. Results: Systemic sST2 positively correlated with serum level of urea and creatinine, respectively. Serum sST2 was significantly increased in ESRD HCV+ patients in comparison to HCV+ group. sST2/IL-1, sST2/IL-4 and sST2/IL-23 ratios were significantly increased in serum of ESRD HCV+ patients in comparison to HCV+ patients. Significantly higher systemic level of sST2 and sST2/IL-1 and sST2/IL-4 ratios were measured in ESRD patients compared to non-ESRD patients. Conclusion: These results suggested that elevated level sST2, as the consequence of renal failure, causes less destruction of liver in HCV infection.

Introduction/Objective. University teachers have a challenging task in finding creative ways to display educational content. One of them is to create applications dedicated to educational purposes, which students can use on their mobile phones at any time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of mobile learning of dentistry students during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. The prospective study involved 56 students from two medical faculties in the Balkans, who continued to study online after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online teaching was based on material in the form of PowerPoint presentations. In order to provide an additional educational tool, a step-by-step mobile application for managing traumatic dental injuries was developed. After one week of using that mobile application, all students completed a questionnaire in electronic form concerning teaching satisfaction. Results. Over 90% of the respondents stated that the application facilitated a learning process, improved their understanding of the teaching unit, and provided a great convenience in terms of access to information. Median value of the total score concerning clinical protocol by the use of application was 20 (16-20), which was significantly higher than the neutral value (p < 0.001). Median value of the total score concerning the use of conventional PowerPoint presentations did not differ significantly from the neutral value (p = 0.284). Conclusion. Mobile learning resulted in improved knowledge of dental traumatology diagnostics and treatment among undergraduate dentistry students during COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction. Oral health is an important part of general health. Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes that students acquire during dental school can influence their behavior towards not just their own health, but also towards health in their immediate environment. The aim of the study was to assess the level of oral health among dental students of the second and fifth year at the University of East Sarajevo. Material and Methods. Sixty-six students from the Dental Department of the Faculty of Medicine, the University of East Sarajevo were assessed. The study was conducted in 2012. The parameters used to assess oral health were: DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth) index and its components, index for the assessment of periodontal tissues (CPITN), and Green’s Vermillion oral hygiene debris index (DI). According to the methodology and criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) all patients were examined using standard dental diagnostic tools under artificial light on dental chair. Results. Average number of decayed teeth of the second year students was 9.93 while it was 11.44 in the fifth year students. The mean dental caries index was 38.23% and person caries index was 100%. The average value of the debris index was 0.42. Healthy periodontium had 18.2% of students, while in 34.8% of students shallow periodontal pockets were observed. Conclusion. Oral hygiene and periodontal health was satisfactory in dental students. However, high average values of decayed teeth indicated that for better results caries preventive services should be activated earlier, even in school or preschool period

Introduction. Caries and periodontal disease are the most common diseases afflicting oral tissues. Insufficient knowledge of the causes of these diseases leads to inappropriate behavior of patients towards their own oral health. The aim of this study was to determine the level of oral hygiene and its effect on the prevalence of dental caries in schoolchildren in Foca. Material and Methods. The study included 239 schoolchildren, 12 years old of both genders, attending four elementary schools in Foca. To assess their oral health methodology and criteria of the World Health Organization were used. Carious teeth were recorded and oral hygiene evaluated in accordance with Oral Hygiene Index. A questionnaire was used to obtain information about oral hygiene habits, reasons for dental visits as well as the number of dental visits. Results. The average number of affected teeth in the analyzed population was 5.43 and the average value of Oral Hygiene Index was 0.93. Good oral hygiene was noticed in 75% of respondents. Most respondents had at least one dental visit. Toothache was the most common reason for dental visit while the distance from clinics and fear of intervention were the most common reasons for not visiting dentist. Conclusion. In this part of Podrinje children had an average of more than five carious permanent teeth. Examined children from rural areas had poorer oral health, as well as lower number of visits to the health facilities compared to their peers in urban areas. Given that the most of examined children (75%) had good oral hygiene, other factors that led to significant number of carious teeth must be determined.

Background/Aim. Oral health is an important part of overall health. Good oral health is important for oral diseases prevention and health maintenance of respiratory system. The aim of the study was to evaluate oral hygiene and periodontal health parameters of asthmatic children and to compare them with children without asthma as well as to evaluate those parameters according to type of used medications and time of taking medications in children with asthma. Methods. This epidemiological study included 68 children with asthma and 68 children without asthma or any other chronic disease aged from 6 to 16 years. Parameters used in this study were Greene-Vermillion index, Löe-Silness gingival index and Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Results. Good oral hygiene (31.1%) was more present in children without asthma whereas poor hygiene (20.0%) was more frequent in children with asthma (p < 0.001). Healthy gingiva was more frequent in children without asthma (25%) while mild (58.8%) and moderate gingival inflammation (5.9%) were more frequent in the group of children with asthma (p < 0.01). Mean CPI values were higher in children with asthma (p < 0.001). Mean values of Plaque Index, Gingival Index and CPI did not show statistically significant difference in relation to type of administered medication. However, taking medications in the afternoon was related to higher mean values of Plaque Index and Gingival Index (p < 0.05) within the group of children with asthma. Conclusion. Children with asthma had poorer oral hygiene and were diagnosed with greater values of oral hygiene and periodontal indices compared with the group of children without asthma. For this reason, it is necessary to promote oral health and establish good oral hygiene habits in asthmatic children.