Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the stress levels of Pakistani dental students through an established stress assessment tool during lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study using a self-administered, voluntarily filled online questionnaire was conducted on undergraduate dental students from first to fourth (Final) years of dental institutes across Pakistan, accredited by the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC). Study questionnaire contained questions on demographic details; gender, province of college, province of residence and perceived stress scale of 10 questions.  It also contained questions about the presence of any symptoms relevant to a particular type of stress. i.e. emotional stress, physical (body related) stress, behavioral stress and cognitive stress. Descriptive statistics were calculated for gender, residence of participants, location of institutes, levels of stress and symptoms signifying a particular stress type. Multiple variables of each stress type were compared with categories of perceived stress scores using chi square test. Results: 706 dental students responded. 53.5% were going through high stress levels, 43.4% were going through moderate stress levels while 2.9% were having low stress levels. Majority of the participants with moderate and high stress levels were from institutions located in provinces with increased number of COVID-19 positive cases. Among moderate and highly stressed participants, more than 68% were females. A significant number of dental students reported symptoms pertaining to emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioral stress due to the COVID-19 disease. Conclusion: Majority of Pakistani dental students are suffering from moderate to high stress levels specially in provinces with a higher number of COVID-19 affected reported cases. There are considerable effects on emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioral states of Pakistani dental students due to the spread of this disease.

Objective: This research was aimed to assess the awareness and attitude regarding implant-retained prosthesis as the most advanced option for tooth replacement amongst residents of Karachi visiting tertiary care centre. Methodology: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the department of Prosthodontics at Bahria University Dental Hospital, Karachi. Undertaking the demographic characteristics of patients, the objective was to determine the awareness and attitude toward implant supported prosthesis. Results: Amongst 380 responses retrieved, 9.8% of respondents were aware about the dental implant treatment. While correlating awareness with demographics features, awareness statistically increased with educational level (p= 0.00) and occupational category(p=0.01) of the participants. The friends and relative s(40.5%) were the main source of information regarding dental implant treatment modality. 54.1% were unwilling to undergo treatment with dental implant whereas high cost (55.2%)was the major limiting factor for implant treatment. 64.9% demanded dental insurance for getting the treatment. 45.9% had no knowledge regarding maintenance of implant supported prosthesis .73.0% had no idea regarding longevity of dental implant where as 86.5% were unaware of it’s impact on systemic health. Conclusion: The overall awareness regarding implant supported prosthesis was found to be minimal. This underlines the need of efforts and measures that should be made to raise the awareness and thus alter attitude towards dental implant therapy. Expensive rates (55.2%) was found to be the major limiting factor that should be relieved in the form of health insurance policies, especially in the developing countries like ours.

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Aim: To assess knowledge, attitude and practice of dental erosion related to dietary acidic intake among medical undergraduates. Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted at Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi from March-2019 to November 2019. The validated questionnaire was used to assess the study objectives. There were five sections in the study tool including demographic data, knowledge, self-reported signs and symptoms, attitude and practices of acidic dietary intake. The data was entered on SPSS version 23.0 for analysis. P-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: From total of 500 subjects; 498 questionnaires were completed in all aspects; hence the response rate was 99.6%. Respondents comprised of both males and females having age range from 17 to 25 years with a mean age of 20.82+SD 1.76. Majority of participants (74.4%) had high level of knowledge regarding dental erosion. Statistically significant association was found (p-value=0.02) when compared to level of knowledge with attitude. While assessing the association between practice and self-reported sign/symptoms; significant association was found in regards to frequency and timing of acidic dietary intake at a p-value of 0.000. Conclusion: Majority of participants had high level of knowledge regarding erosion as related to acidic dietary intake and was positively reflected in their attitude. Overall, natural fruit juices were the highest consumed drinks followed by carbonated drinks. Keywords: Dental erosion, Dietary behavior, Medical Undergraduates, Carbonated drinks, Dietary habits.

Background: Despite the existence of the most reliable and authentic tools of personal identification such as fingerprints, dental, and DNA analysis, the palatal rugae are recommended as an adjuvant aid in forensic diagnosis. Palatal rugoscopy or palatoscopy aims to specify a person’s identity and gender discrimination. Aim: To determine the morphological pattern of palatal rugae considering gender. Settings and design: Cross-sectional study, calcorrugoscopy, chi-square test Material: This incorporated 360 subjects encompassing an equal ratio of the male and female genders. Undertaking the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, calcorrugoscopy technique was utilized in which maxillary casts were obtained through irreversible hydrocolloid impression material (Cavex cream alginate – fast set) and poured in type III dental stone. The assessed morphological parameters were shape and unification. Trobo’s classification and Thomas and Kotze’s criteria were used to assess shape and unification respectively to assess the qualitative aspect of palatal rugae. Descriptive analysis was generated in terms of frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: The most frequently occurred rugae pattern was sinuous followed by a line with divergent unification. Sexual dimorphism was not evident among the selected subjects regarding rugae shape and unification configuration.Moreover, the same trend regarding shape and unification was repeated on both sides of the palate, with no significant difference noted in number of palatal rugae undertaking both sides. Conclusions: Every individual possesses a unique rugae pattern irrespective of gender. Keywords: Cross- sectional, Adults, Gender dimorphism, Pakistan, Palatal rugae