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The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for choosing dentistry as a career in an Arab population of undergraduate dental students in Jordan. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to dental students from year 1 to 5 at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Jordan in Amman. The questionnaire comprised 31 items and the students were required to rate the importance of each item for selecting dentistry as a career on a 10 point scale. Parametric tests were used to investigate if statistically significant differences existed between scores for different groups. The response rate for the study was 79% (477 out of 604 students recruited). Two hundred and twenty one students (46%) had dentistry as a first choice. Prestige was given a maximum score by 44.4% of the students recruited and a similar number of students, 43.6% gave a maximum score to the factor representing helping people. There were slight differences in the motivation between male and females with males more motivated by financial factors. It was concluded that 'prestige' and 'helping people' were important motivating factors in this group of dental students.

Background:  Signs of physical abuse often present in the oro‐facial region and dentists are in a strategic position to recognise and report suspected cases. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, educational experiences and attitudes of Jordanian dentists towards child abuse and to assess their educational needs. Methods:  A cross‐sectional survey of a random sample of Jordanian dentists (n = 400) was conducted using an anonymous, self‐administered structured questionnaire. Results:  The response rate was 64%. Thirty‐four per cent (n = 88) of the respondents reported having formal training in recognising and reporting child abuse, and 42% (n = 106) had post‐qualification/continuing education training on the topic. Half of the dentists (127/256) suspected a case of child abuse in the past 5 years, but only 12% (31/256) reported their suspicions. The main reasons for not reporting suspicions of abuse were fear from anger of parents (43%), uncertainty about diagnosis (41%) and uncertainty about referral procedures (41%). Those dentists who had formal training in dental school (P = 0.0001) and post‐qualification courses in child abuse (P = 0.006) were significantly more likely to report suspicions. Conclusions:  A significant gap existed between recognising signs of physical child abuse and responding effectively. Improvements in child abuse education and continuing education courses are advised to provide dentists in Jordan with adequate knowledge of indicators of physical child abuse and to inform them on the protocol to follow when suspicions arise.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to identify whether psychological stress increased as undergraduate dental students progressed through their studies from first to fifth year. Another objective was to determine if the perceived sources of stress have changed along the years.MethodsTo achieve these aims, a cohort of students at the University of Jordan were followed from first to fifth year of dental school. Fifth year students completed both the General Health Questionnaire ‘GHQ-12’ which was used to assess psychological stress and the Dental Environment Stress questionnaire ‘DES’ which was used to examine the perceived sources of stress. The same cohort of students had completed similar questionnaires during their first year of study. Chi-square analysis and independent t-test analysis were performed to compare GHQ-12 and DES scores between first and fifth year.ResultsResults showed that psychological stress increased from first to fifth year of study. Eighty- nine percent of fifth year students scored over the cut-off point of three in the GHQ-12 compared to 58 % in the first year. The difference between the years was statistically significant at p = 0.05. Mean score for DES also increased between first and fifth year of study and the difference was statistically significant at p = 0.05.ConclusionsResults of this study demonstrated that stress in dental students at the University of Jordan increased along the years. Fifth year students showed a high level of psychological stress and methods to reduce that stress should be further investigated and utilized.

The purpose of this work was to investigate the prevalence of dental caries, bacterial dental plaque, gingivitis, enamel defects and caries- related microflora in children with severe haemophilia. Thirty-eight children with severe haemophilia (factor VIII and IX < 2 U dL(-1)) were recruited from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and matched for age, gender and ethnicity with healthy control children from the Eastman Dental Institute. Indices were recorded for decayed, missing, and filled teeth and surfaces in both the deciduous dentition (dmfs/dmft) and the permanent dentition (DMFS/DMFT). The plaque and gingivitis scores and developmental enamel defects were also recorded. The caries-related microflora was sampled and cultured for Streptococcus mutans, and Lactobacilli and Candida species. A significantly greater proportion of children with severe haemophilia were caries-free compared with the controls (36.7% vs. 13.3%; P=0.04). Both the DMFS and DMFT were significantly greater in the controls (3.6 and 2.8, respectively) compared with the haemophilia group, (0.8 and 0.7; P=0.007 and P=0.04). The plaque score for the permanent dentition only was significantly greater for the control children (24.2) compared with the haemophilia group, (10.2; P=0.04). The mean number of colony forming units of S. mutans was significantly greater in the control group compared with the haemophilia group (P=0.05). We conclude that children with severe haemophilia have a significantly lower prevalence of dental caries compared with matched, healthy controls.