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Although geographic information system–based studies are particularly increasing in other sectors, few have embraced their full potential in health services allocation in Malaysia. This study aimed to produce a visual map on the distribution of smoking cessation clinics (SCCs) in Malaysia and analyze its pattern against the national population of smokers. SCC addresses were obtained from the government website and mapped using geographic information system tools. A total of 199 and 449 private and public SCCs was mapped throughout the country, respectively. The lowest SCC to smoker population ratio was in the state of Negeri Sembilan with 1:3000. The highest SCC to smoker population ratio was in Sabah with 1 SCC for 15 000 smokers. Almost 70% of SCCs were primary health clinics. Smoking cessation clinics were distributed throughout all the states in Malaysia except the state of Sabah.

This study aims to assess the association of parents' knowledge, children's feeding pattern, and other contributing factors with caries experience of a child. This was a cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire of 145 children aged two to eight years old attending the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. The questionnaires were given to the parents during their children's dental visit in paediatric clinic and primary care. Dental caries was traced from the patient's record in the Integrated Dental Records Management System (IDERMS) and clinical examination was done for those who did not have the dental record. Charting was recorded using dentition status and treatment need based on the 1997 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Data were analysed using the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA to examine the association of dental caries with two and three or more categorical variables respectively using SPSS 23.0. The study participants were 74 (51%) boys and 71 (49%) girls. The mean dmft score of the participants was 3.31 (4.36). Caries experience was statistically significant with the reason for first dental visit (p < 0.001), the age of the children discontinues bottle-feeding (p < 0.001), habits of leaving bottle-feeding while sleeping (p = 0.011), children wake up for milk at night (p = 0.050) and knowledge of parents on the effect of leaving bottle while sleeping (p = 0.037). Children feeding patterns and parents' knowledge of the risk factors of dental caries were significantly associated with caries experience among children aged two to eight years old.

Apart from the major drawback of black staining once lesion is arrested, few studies have indicated that dental personnel’s perception and attitude towards silver diamine fluoride (SDF) influences its usage. This report aims to provide a systematic review presenting dental personnel’s knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions, (KAPs) regarding SDF. A search of multiple electronic literature databases and a manual search were performed. The review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 statement. A comprehensive search yielded 719 publications and 14 cross-sectional studies matching the inclusion criteria. Awareness of SDF among respondents ranged from 29.6% to 87.8%, whereas awareness of its use in dentistry ranged from 14.4% to 94.5%. Regarding attitude towards SDF, the mean score ranged from 3.39 to 14.35. An increase in knowledge of and attitude towards SDF is significantly associated with the usage of SDF and may increase the usage of SDF. This review provides vital information on dental personnel’s KAPs regarding SDF. It is anticipated that the adaptation of SDF usage will be more widespread in the future, especially among children. Findings from the review may assist intervention programs to change misperceptions and to enhance awareness regarding SDF among dental personnel.

IntroductionWhen dental institutions had to close down during the Movement Control Order (MCO) implementation due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, dental students were faced with delays in completing their tobacco cessation schedule. An alternative was to allow students to conduct virtual counselling (VC) for smoking cessation for their patients to address their clinical requirements. This study aimed to explore Malaysian dental undergraduates' and patients' experiences undergoing smoking cessation counselling through virtual platforms.Materials and MethodsThe study consisted of qualitative, semi‐structured Focus Group Discussions (for students, n = 23) and in‐depth interviews (for patients, n = 9); to phenomenologically describe the perceptions of participants involved in the VC. Each session was recorded with the participants' permission. The recorded session was transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using the qualitative data analysis software, NVivo™.ResultsThe major themes that emerged were: (1) General opinions and experiences, (2) Content of VCs, (3) Remote access to counselling, (4) Patient‐clinician relationships, (5) Technical issues, (6) Changes after VCs, and (7) Future application. Most students and patients were quite comfortable with VC as it is convenient, allowing students to be creative and avoid the hassle of transport and traffic. However, some of the students felt that it lacked the personal touch and guidance from lecturers who would normally be present during physical class.ConclusionVirtual counselling enables remote access to counselling, but it is also subjected to some limitations, especially regarding lack of clinical assessments, human touch and internet issues. Though participants were optimistic about adapting it in the future, multiple factors must be considered. Ultimately, the behavioural change will depend on the patient's motivation in making a difference.