White, pigmented, and exophytic lesions were the most common types of oral mucosal lesions found in this study. Although most of these lesions are innocuous, the dentist should be able to recognize and differentiate them from the worrisome lesions, and decide on the appropriate treatment.

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequency of biopsied oral soft tissue lesions in Kuwait. <b><i>Materials and Methods:</i></b> Biopsy records and microscopic sections of all oral soft tissue biopsies seen in the Department of Histopathology at Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait, between January 2004 and December 2009 were reviewed. The biopsies were divided into two major groups; group 1: nonneoplastic lesions, and group 2: neoplastic lesions. Group 1 was subdivided into reactive, inflammatory, cyst/cyst-like, dysplastic, and pigmented lesions. Group 2 was subdivided into epithelial and mesenchymal lesions, and also into benign and malignant lesions. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 858 biopsies, 732 (85.3%) were nonneoplastic while the remaining 126 (14.7%) were neoplastic. In group 1, more than half of the lesions were within the reactive subgroup (n = 386; 52.7%) while in group 2, 94 (74.6%) lesions were epithelial in origin and 32 (25.4%) were mesenchymal. In addition, 70 (55.6%) lesions were malignant and 56 (44.4%) were benign. Of the 858 biopsies, the most common lesions were fibrous hyperplasias: 178 (20.7%); mucoceles: 110 (12.8%); pyogenic granulomas: 94 (11.0%); squamous cell carcinomas: 56 (6.5%), and lichenoid mucositis: 49 (5.7%). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The majority of the lesions were nonneoplastic and were related to local irritation or trauma. Most neoplastic lesions were epithelial in origin. Oral squamous cell carcinoma was one of the most prevalent oral lesions highlighting the importance of prevention, early detection and diagnosis of oral cancer.

Several studies regarding knowledge and attitudes of dental students towards HIV/AIDS have been reported from various countries. However, to the best of our knowledge, an international comparison between countries with diverse cultural and educational backgrounds has not been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS of dental students of Kuwait University (KU), Kuwait and the University of Peradeniya (UP), Sri Lanka, the only dental schools in the respective countries. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a total of 258 dental students, representing the clinical years of both universities, using a similar structured questionnaire with sixty questions to examine their knowledge of various aspects of HIV/AIDS and thirteen questions to examine their attitudes towards the disease. The mean knowledge and attitude scores were calculated and compared between students from the two universities using t-test with SPSS 17.0. A total of 215 questionnaires were completed and returned, giving a total response rate of 83.3 percent. The KU students were signiicantly more knowledgeable (p=0.018) regarding HIV/AIDS than the UP students. However, the UP students demonstrated a more highly signiicant positive attitude (p<0.001) towards the disease than those in KU. This information might help to deine strategies to improve the quality of education in these countries.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess oral cancer awareness among dentists in Kuwait. Subjects andMethods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 dentists working at the Ministry of Health Dental Centers and Kuwait University Dental Center using a structured questionnaire. Dentists' knowledge about risk factors of oral cancer and about diagnostic concepts, current practices and opinions, preferred point of referral as well as interest in continuing education were assessed and the responses were analyzed. Results: Of the 200 dentists surveyed, 153 responded (76.5% response rate). The mean knowledge score of the respondents was 20.6 ± 4.0 out of a total score of 30. Thirty-five (22.9%) dentists had consistently high knowledge scores for both risk factors and diagnostic concepts. Of the 153 dentists, 132 (86.3%) were interested in obtaining further information about oral cancer. Conclusion: This study highlighted the need for improved knowledge and education of dental practitioners on oral cancer.

Lack of general dental practitioner oral cancer knowledge has been shown to be a major factor to delays in referral and treatment. Dentists' competence and confidence in detecting oral cancer may be strongly influenced by their dental school training. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess dental student's awareness and knowledge of prevention and early detection of oral cancer. Through the use of questionnaires, the students' knowledge of oral cancer risk factors, diagnostic concepts, and clinical care of patients was assessed. An excellent response rate (97.3 %) was observed in this study. Overall, the students' knowledge of diagnostic items was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.001) than their knowledge of risk factors. A high percentage of students identified tobacco (98.6 %) and alcohol (76.7 %) as the principal risk factors and would offer advice regarding modification of these habits (75.3 %). Also, their knowledge of non-risk factors was significantly lower than their knowledge of proven risk factors (p ≤ 0.001). Only one fifth of the students regarded visual inspection to be an effective screening method. Only 32.9 % stated that all suspicious lesions should be biopsied, and as low as 2.7 % had assisted in taking a biopsy. This study highlights the need for a more structured teaching program with greater emphasis on the early signs and risk factors of oral cancer, performing routine oral examination, referral for biopsy, and appropriate early management of suspicious oral lesions.