Oolong tea extracts (aqueous and organic) showed a greater inhibitory effect on the growth of S. mutans than the other tea extracts .

Oral Rehydration Solution-Liquid as a storage medium was found to be as efficient as Hanks balanced salt solution to maintain the viability of periodontal ligament cells, and it was found to be better than milk.

Background: A fundamental skill in education includes the ability to search for, evaluate, and synthesize information, and this cannot be underestimated in dental education. The aim of this study was to assess how dental students from Malaysia and Finland acquire scientific information and to compare their information retrieval skills. Methods: Fourth and fifth-year dental students from Malaysia and Finland were invited to participate. A self-administered structured questionnaire including items about the use of information sources, subjective assessment of literature retrieval skills and knowledge was used. Results: A total of 226 dental students participated in the survey: 131 from Malaysia and 95 from Finland. In both countries, the highest interest for data retrieval among students was found in the oral surgery specialty. The three most used sources of information among Malaysian students were personal lecture notes, dental textbooks, and colleagues; while Finnish students used colleagues, lecture notes, and current clinical guidelines. Students’ knowledge of evidence-based practice was inadequate in both student groups. Though the majority of participants reported that they had good or passable skills in literature retrieval, more students from Finland judged themselves to have at least good skills compared to those from Malaysia. Conclusion: Dental education in both countries includes information retrieval studies and mandatory research projects. However, students did not often use those sources that are considered essential in evidence-based dentistry. Universities should further develop educational and training interventions that guide students to use knowledge resources more effectively for critically appraising scientific evidence.

Odontomas are the most common odontogenic hamartomas worldwide. Depending on the level of organisation of the tissues inside, these can be differentiated into compound type or complex type. As these are asymptomatic and do not cause any changes in the bone, they are often diagnosed during the routine dental examination. Complex odontomas are commonly found to occur in posterior mandible while compound odontomas are found in the anterior maxilla. A nine-year-old female child reported for a routine dental check-up, when a missing left permanent mandibular lateral incisor [32] was noticed. Further investigations revealed compound odontoma and unerupted 32, which is an unusual location. Early detection of these tumours is essential to avoid lengthy corrective treatments.

BackgroundRegular consumption of sweetened beverages has been associated with dental caries, which is mediated through salivary pH. The salivary pH changes among individuals with low caries experience after consumption of two local sweetened drinks is compared.MethodsIn this block randomised controlled parallel group, an open-label pilot study of 49 participants aged 21–25 were selected. The participants were randomised into three groups: mineral water, chocolate drink and sirap bandung. One day prior to the test, scaling was done and the participants did not eat or drink anything on the test day till the saliva sample collection was done. Salivary pH was measured at baseline and after the consumption of the drinks with a glass electrode digital pH meter at five-minute interval for half an hour. The statistical significance was assessed at the level of 5%.ResultsAfter consumption of chocolate drink and sirap bandung, the salivary pH dropped from a baseline of 7.09 for chocolate drink and 7.13 for sirap bandung to 6.69 for chocolate and 6.86 for sirap bandung. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).ConclusionSweetened milk based local drinks can increase the caries susceptibility. In the community, information about limiting the intake of sweetened drinks should be reinforced.

No abstract

No abstract

Social media use among students has infiltrated into dental education and offers benefits but may also cause problems. The aim of this study was to explore and compare current social media usage among dental undergraduate students from two countries—Malaysia and Finland. A self-administered structured online questionnaire was used. WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat were the services that were most familiar to the respondents from both countries. There were differences between the students from the two countries among the most preferred platforms. The most frequently used applications were WhatsApp (91.1% of students in Malaysia and 96.1% in Finland used it very frequently) and Instagram (74.3% of students in Malaysia and 70.0% in Finland used it very frequently). Students in Malaysia spent significantly more hours per week using the platforms as study tools than students in Finland. Over 80% of the Finnish dental students reported that lack of knowledge was not an issue in social media usage, while 85% of Malaysian students felt that lack of knowledge prevented them from using social media platforms frequently. The findings offer evidence that dental students used social media extensively.