Independence, financial security and 'prestige' were the predominant motivating factors in this group of first-year dental students. Determining the reasons for choosing dentistry has important implications for the selection and training of students as well as for their future job satisfaction.

SUMMARYObjective: The study aimed to establish the mean DMFT of adults over the age of 20 years in Bulgaria. We also aimed to determine any association between demographic factors, such as age, gender, general health status etc, and dental caries.Material and Methods: The study was conducted from 2006 to 2009. Data was collected from a randomly chosen representative sample of 1741 adults aged over 20 years, from 13 Bulgarian cities and villages. From these 1741 adults, 105 (6.03%) refused to complete the questionnaire. A total of 1636 (93.97%) were included in the survey, of which 766 (47%) lived in villages and small towns and 870 (53%) in the capital city Sofia and other cities. The average age of the sample was 39.6 years. 894 (54.6%) were male and 742 (45.4%) were female. Each participant completed a questionnaire about demographic and socio-demographic status. Afterwards, a clinical examination was carried out. Chi-square and one-way ANOVA were used to test for statistical significance of qualitative variables (p<0.05).Results: For the whole study sample, mean DMFT was 17.8 (SD 7.98). There was a statistically significant association between DMFT and age. Women had higher DMFT values (18.6 ± 7.66)) than men (15.2 ± 7.91). There was a link between DMFT and general health too. People with excellent general health had DMFT 11.5 (SD 6.39), whereas people with bad general health had DMFT 21.4 (SD 8.16).Conclusion: Mean DMFT score of adults in Bulgaria is 17.76 teeth. There is an association between some demographic factors and DMFT. Women, people with bad general health and older people have higher values of DMFT and need more care from dental health services.

Purpose. As dental education was significantly influenced by the novel coronavirus pandemic, this study aims to investigate pre-clinical dental students’ perspectives on the implementation of remote education and school closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, self-reported effectiveness of on-line learning as well as their educational and personal experiences. Method. A self-administered questionnaire was posted online to a total of 258 out of 516 second and third-year preclinical dental students in Dec 2020/Jan 2021 at Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University-Sofia, Bulgaria. Survey items focused on 3 general domains: student attitude, assessment, and concerns regarding online learning; student current knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic and student opinion of pandemic psychological impact on public health, personal experiences and intention for vaccination. Findings. One-hundred and sixty-nine students responded to the survey (response rate 65.5%). Most of them (70.4%) approved suspension of face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 crisis. Eighty percent expressed dissatisfaction toward online teaching sessions and agreed that this will have negative effects on their education. Fifty-eight percent did not find remote education more stressful than in-person training. More concerns were expressed about financial issues than mental health problems. Intention for getting vaccinated was expressed by 53.3% and 40.8% thought that the vaccine would cause many side health effects. Implications for research and practice. Within the limitations of the study, identified gaps in online education could help increase effectiveness of learning environment and create opportunity to enhance education for the future. Dental student thoughts about COVID-19 vaccinations provide valuable information to administrators, public health professionals and policy makers to improve efforts towards preserving, protecting, and promoting public health.

Periodontal health is an important component of oral health. Numerous studies prove the progressing nature of periodontal diseases and their dependence on a number of demographic and socio-economic factors. The purpose of the study is to examine the periodontal status of the active age population in the Republic of Bulgaria and to define its dependence on social and demographic factors. To accomplish the study goals epidemiological and survey cards were developed and approbated and epidemiological study was conducted, including clinical dental examination and anonymous survey among 416 Bulgarian citizens aged 18 to 65 years. The results were statistically analyzed to establish the dependencies between the periodontal status and socio-demographic factors. Only 69 (16.59%) of the study subjects have no periodontal problems (CPI = 0) in all sextants, while all other patients have different degrees of periodontal disease. One can witness an increase of the periodontal disease incidence, proportional to the age of the patients, as well as its decrease with increasing the frequency of dental visits on behalf of the patients and their oral health self-assessment. Healthy periodontal tissues prevail in young patients and urban population. Gingival inflammation and calculus are prevalent among middle-aged people, rural population as well as in individuals of lower educational level. Periodontal pockets of varying depths are being registered mostly among the older people and the subjects with low and average income. Higher severity of the periodontal pathology is observed in individuals of lower educational levels and lower income. These facts verify the conclusion about an inadequate state commitment as regards the dental health problems of the population, while bearing in mind that the treatment of periodontal conditions is not reimbursed by NHIF.

Communication can be defined as the process of sharing ideas, experiences, attitudes and knowledge by transmission of symbolic messages. Dental medicine is an area where technical skills are not the only prerequisites for being a good health care provider. Soft skills, such as active listening to the patient, appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication, empathy, and respecting ethical rules are significant in the dentist–patient communication process. Consequently, they influence patients’ attitudes, satisfaction, and ongoing health-related behaviour. Therefore, a training course on communication skills has been introduced at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the Medical University in Sofia. The aim is to improve students’ soft skills, and to form a behavioural design pattern concerning dentist–patient interactions.