IntroductionThe positive attitude and behaviour of dental students can be improved during their undergraduate studies and is considered an essential factor in promoting the oral self-care habits of their patients and society in general.AimThis study was conducted to evaluate the oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours among undergraduate dental students at a private university, based on the year of undergraduate studies.Material and methodsA self-administered questionnaire based on the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory was distributed among 783 undergraduate dental students from 1st to 5th year. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. The Mann–Whitney U test and one-way ANOVA tests (Kruskal–Wallis test) were used.ResultsThe scores of oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour between preclinical and clinical dental students were found to have statistically significant differences (P < 0.001). The variation of knowledge, attitude and behaviour scores from 1st to 5th year undergraduate studies was shown to be statistically significant with the year of study (P < 0.001). The study showed significant improvement in the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of the final year dental students as compared with the 1st year dental students.ConclusionPreclinical students need properly designed oral health educational programs to increase their attitude and behaviour toward oral health.

AIM: This study aimed to assess the shear bond strength of a self-adhering flowable resin composite versus a total-etch one to different surfaces of permanent-molars. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-six sound human permanent molars were used. The teeth were embedded in acrylic blocks, such that their buccal surfaces were shown. The teeth were divided into three groups: Group I: Uncut-Enamel, Group II: Cut-enamel-surfaces with minimal-grinding and Group III: dentin-surfaces. Half of the teeth in each group were used for bonding to a self-adhering flowable resin-composite (Dyad-flow, Kerr, USA). While the other half of each group was bonded to a total-etch flowable resin-composite (Filtek™Z350-XT,3M-ESPE, USA) which necessitate etching and bonding. Teflon-mold was used for constructing resin composite cylinders (3 × 3 mm) over the buccal surfaces. The Dyad-flow was applied in the central hole of the mould placed upon tooth-surface, and then light-cured for 20 seconds. The Filtek-Z350-XT was applied similarly after etching and bonding steps. The teeth were stored in 37°C distilled water for 24 hours. The strength was measured using a universal testing machine and statistically analysed. Modes of failure were studied using digital-microscope. RESULTS: Mean values of shear bond strength for the Dyad and Filtek-Z350-XT in the uncut-enamel were 3.5 and 24.6MPa respectively, while that for cut-enamel were 4.5 and 12.7MPa respectively (Both highly statistically significant P ≤ 0.01) and in dentin were 4.3 and 6.7MPa respectively (Statistically significant P ≤ 0.05). The failure mode for Dyad was mainly adhesive (un-cut or cut-enamel 83.3% adhesive and 16.7% mixed, while in dentin 100% adhesive). While the modes of failure for Filtek-Z350-XT in enamel, either cut or un-cut, were 50% cohesive and 50% mixed, whereas in dentin 100% adhesive. CONCLUSION: Bonding of self-etch ″Dyad-flow″ flowable resin-composite was lower than the total-etch one in enamel and dentin. Thus further material improvement may be required.

ObjectivesThis study assessed dentists’ intention in eight Arab countries to report suspected exposure to violence among patients and factors associated with this intention based on the theory of planned behaviour.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 including a convenience sample of dentists practising in public, private and academic sectors in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Respondents answered a self-administered questionnaire collecting information about personal and professional background and perceived ability to identify victims of violence. The questionnaire assessed (on a scale from 1 to 10 using six negative statements) dentists’ perception of healthcare system mandated reporting of suspected violence. Six statements were used to assess professional attitude towards reporting suspected violence. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between intention to report suspected violence and perceived ability, perception and attitude adjusting for confounders.ResultsThe response rate was 65.2% (n=2936/4506) from general practitioners (70.9%) of mean age=31 years with 56.7% women. Of those, 68.8% intended to report and 52.2% considered themselves able to identify violence victims. The mean (SD) negative perception score=5.3/10 (2.1) and the mean (SD) professional attitude score=7.5/10 (1.9). In multivariate regression, intention to report was associated with professional attitude (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.14), ability to identify violence victims (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.45 to 2.12) and negative perception that reporting is not mandated (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.94). Significant differences existed among countries in intention to report.ConclusionMost dentists intended to report suspected violence and their intention could be explained by the theory of planned behaviour which offers a framework for professional development to support violence victims. Sharing of training resources, policies and guidelines is needed to ensure that practices similar to international guidelines are consistently adopted by dentists across Arab countries.

In 2020, the World Health Organization has characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as a pandemic. Although a few vaccines and drugs have been approved to, respectively, prevent or treat the disease, several clinical trials are still ongoing to test new vaccines or drugs to mitigate the burden of the pandemic. Few studies have shown the role of host genetics in disease prognosis and drug response highlighting the importance of diverse participation in COVID-19 clinical trials. The goal of this study is to assess public attitudes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan toward participating in COVID-19 clinical trials and to identify the factors that may influence their attitude. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed among the target group through social media platforms. The number of responses was 1,576. Three quarters (74.9%) of participants heard about clinical trials before, 57.6% of them had a positive attitude toward participation in COVID-19 clinical trials. The conduct of clinical trials in accordance with the scientific, research, and ethical guidelines was a strong predictor of willingness to participate in clinical trials. Other positive factors also included protection of family from COVID-19 and contributing to the return to normal community life as well as receiving additional healthcare benefit was the fourth significant predictor. On the other hand, the thought that clinical trials can have a negative impact on the health of participants strongly predicted the unwillingness of individuals to participate in such trials. This was followed by having limited information about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 and the lack of trust in physicians and hospitals. In general, Arab citizens are accepting the concept and have a positive attitude toward COVID-19 clinical trials. Increasing awareness of COVID-19 and clinical trials, enforcing the concept of altruism, and placing clear policies in conducting clinical trials are needed to increase participation in clinical trials among Arabs.

Background: Dental treatment exposes the patients to an environment that may trigger natural response of fear, leading to difficulties in accepting treatment or even dental avoidance. The study aimed to identify the most common behavior management techniques (BMT) adopted by pediatric dentist in Egypt for managing uncooperative children. Methods: Questionnaires were hand delivered to pediatric dentists, which designed to record participants demographic and practice information, their current use of BMT, to determine the most common behavior management techniques used for each patient age; and their relationship to practitioner gender, total year in practice and position in the faculty. Results: Surveys were returned by 72 pediatric dentists (27.8% were males and 72.2% were females). Parental presence was practiced by all participants mainly for patients less than 2 years (93.1%). Tell-show-do was considered the most used technique (95.8%) for patients 3-5 years. Their employment of advanced techniques by respondents was less than basic techniques, being least for sedation and highest for general anesthesia mainly for the very young patients (73.2%). Conclusions: Presence of parents at the operatory became imperative for patients less than two years to gain their cooperation, unless general anesthesia will be used for them.

Background: Root canal disinfection is considered critical for achieving successful regenerative endodontic procedures. Photo-activated disinfection is a novel disinfection method that can help to achieve the goal of regenerative endodontics. This article reports the clinical and radiographic results after single visit regenerative endodontics using photo-activated disinfection. Methods: An 8.5-year-old girl complained of fractured upper right central incisor. Pulp necrosis was diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings. The root canal was irrigated with sodium hypochlorite solution (1.5%) followed by saline. Then, the canal was dried with paper points. A combination of a photosensitizer solution and low power laser light were applied. EDTA solution was used as a final irrigant. Bleeding was induced, followed by placement of collagen resorbable matrix and white mineral trioxide aggregate. Two days later, the tooth was sealed and restored with permanent filling. Results: Clinical findings revealed no pain on percussion or palpation tests. Radiographic examination revealed an increase in root length, an increase of apical root thickness and apical closure at the 12-month follow-up period. Conclusion: Regenerative endodontics using photo-activated disinfection achieved successful outcomes in the necrotic immature permanent tooth.

Population-based genomics studies have proven successful in identifying genetic variants associated with diseases. High-quality biospecimens linked with informative health data from diverse segments of the population have made such research possible. However, the success of biobank research depends on the willingness of the public to participate in this type of research. We aimed to explore the factors associated with the willingness of the public to participate in biobank research from four low- and middle-income countries in the Arab region (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Sudan). We used a previously validated questionnaire to assess several constructs that included the public’s perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to participate in biobank research. We recruited 967 participants. More than half did not have prior awareness of biobanks. Participants’ willingness to donate biospecimens and health data was less than 10%. Our results also showed that participants harbored concerns with trust, privacy, and with data-sharing involving international researchers. Predictors of willingness to participate in biobank research included no previous involvement in research and positive attitudes toward biobanks. Finally, our study showed several differences between the four countries regarding several of the investigated constructs. We conclude there should be additional efforts to raise public awareness and enhance perceptions of the public in biobanking research to enhance trust. We further recommend qualitative research to explore the underlying factors that contribute to the public’s concerns with international data sharing that would enhance global health.

Background: Assessing the public perspectives regarding donation of biospecimens to biobanks would be helpful with the establishment of biobanks in the Arab region. Objective: To develop a biobanking questionnaire in Arabic and assess its psychometric properties. Design: Multicenter cross-sectional study. Methods: We used a two-step process for questionnaire development. First, we decided on the important constructs for a questionnaire followed by development of an item pool through review of the scientific literature and published questionnaires. The questionnaire was refined through cognitive interviews and translation. An expert panel assessed content validity. The final questionnaire included five domains: perceptions; aspects important to participation in biobank research; preferences for type of biobank; attitudes toward biobanking; and willingness to participate in biobank research. Second, we distributed the questionnaire to 250 members of the public from Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Morocco to assess the questionnaire's psychometric properties, including reliability (internal consistency and Cronbach's alpha) and construct validity (convergent and divergent validity and exploratory factor analysis [EFA]). Results: Internal consistency yielded a range of Cronbach's alpha for the five domains from 0.62 to 0.80. EFA showed a 12-factorial solution. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.907 and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant ( p < 0.005). Attitudes were positively correlated with willingness to donate (r = 0.30; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The final biobank Arabic language questionnaire showed excellent reliability and acceptable validity parameters. The newly developed Arabic questionnaire is the first psychometrically tested tool that can be used in the Arab region to assess the public perspectives on participation in biobanking research.