This multinational survey investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and perceived stress (PS) in seven countries. First-year dental undergraduates attending a dental school in England, Greece, Romania, South Africa, Australia, and the United States and three schools in Malaysia were invited to complete a set of questionnaires on age, gender, academic background, satisfaction with career choice, EI, and PS. Of 860 questionnaires distributed, 596 were fully completed-a response rate of 69.3 percent. Mean EI score was 123.8 (95 percent CI 122.7-124.9), and mean PS score was 19.1 (95 percent CI 18.6-19.7). Significant differences in EI and PS scores were detected between different countries. Females (p<0.05), younger students (p<0.001), those without a previous higher education qualification (p<0.001), and those not satisfied with their decision to study dentistry (p<0.001) were more likely to report PS when compared to their counterparts. A significant inverse relationship (coef-ficient=-0.29, p=0.001) between EI and PS was detected. Independent significant predictors of PS identified were gender (ß=0.22, t=5.71, p=0.001), previous higher education qualification (ß=-0.14, t=-2.42, p=0.010), satisfaction with decision to study dentistry (ß=-0.20, t=-5.11, p=0.001), and EI (ß=-0.24, t=-6.09, p=0.; 0044(0)2073777632 phone; 0044(0)2073777064 fax; a.k.pau@qmul.ac.uk.

Background:The high prevalence and impacts of orofacial pain (OFP) have caused major sufferings to individuals and society. The purpose of the study was to investigate the problems and impacts of OFP among a group of Malaysian aborigines. The objectives were to determine (i) the prevalence, aetiology, duration, severity, types and persistence of OFP during the past 3 months preceding the study; (ii) its associated impact on daily performance; and (iii) the measures taken for pain relief.Methods: This is a cross sectional study carried out in Kuala Lipis, Pahang involving 6 villages of Orang Asli Bateq and Semai. Study sample was chosen using convenient sampling including adults aged 16 years and above. Participants were invited for an interview using structured questionnaire followed by clinical examination. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS ver12.Results: Response rate was low at 20% (n = 140). Over one-quarter (26.4%) of the sample experienced OFP in the previous 3 months. Toothache was found to be the main aetiology (83.3%) followed by gingival pain (18.9%), temporomandibular joint (10.8%) and facial pain (8.1%). Mean duration of pain was 9.8 days for toothache, 162.4 days for gingival pain, 7.3 days for TMJ and 5.7 days for facial pain. Of those who had OFP, over half rated the pain as moderate (37.8%) and severe (29.7%) and most of the pain was 'intermittent' in nature (81.1%). Over half (62.2%) admitted the pain had disappeared during the interview. In terms of pain relief, 56.8% of the sample used traditional medicine. The pain had impacted on the chewing ability (70.3%, p=0.01), ability to sleep at night (73.0%, p<0.001), levels of anxiety (70.3%), ability to perform daily chores (33.3%) and social life (35.1%) of the Orang Asli sample.Conclusion: This study suggests the prevalence of OFP was high among the Orang Asli sample, which imposed considerable physical and psychological impacts on daily life.

The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of Malaysian HIV-positive subjects towards the attitude of dental personnel in providing oral care to them. The study design was cross-sectional with the sampling frame comprising of 27 Government Drug Rehabilitation Centres throughout Malaysia. A convenience sample was then taken from 20 centres with the highest enrolment of HIV-positive subjects. A self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on the perception of HIV-positive subjects towards the attitude of dental personnel in providing oral care to the patient with HIV-positive. The study sample consisted of 509 HIV-positive individuals with a mean age of 31.3+/-12.9 years old. Of these, only 15.1% attended a dental clinic after confirmation of HIV-positive status. The study demonstrated that 67.5% of the HIV-positive subjects disclosed their status voluntarily to the dentists and majority of the dentists (76.9%) did not show any negative reaction on knowing their HIV positive status. There was also no difference in the attitude of auxiliary staff toward the above disclosure. In conclusion, the study showed that oral health care personnel are more receptive to the HIV-positive subjects receiving dental care and treatment.

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the parents' level of knowledge, and their attitudes to nursing bottle syndrome. Of 284 children aged 2-6 years clinically examined, 153 were diagnosed as having nursing bottle syndrome based on the criterion that at least one upper maxillary incisor was affected by caries. The parents of the 153 affected children were then interviewed by questionnaire . The findings suggested that parents had adequate knowledge and a positive attitude towards maintaining satisfactory dental care for their children. However, these attitudes were not reflected in the dental health of their children. The implications of these findings are discussed.

A survey of 303 six-to fifteen-year-old Proto-Malay children was carried out in Selangor, West Malaysia. The examinations were carried out using a chair-table and natural daylight. Periodontal status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPINT). The findings revealed a generally low prevalence of periodontal disease affecting only 25.08% of the sample examined. Of these, 15.72% were found to have a score of 1 (bleeding of the gingiva), while 9.36% had calculus on the tooth surface. In terms of treatment needs, 24.75% required dental health education. The relationship between these findings and the possible causes are discussed.