Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate smoking habits of Iranian dental students in relation to their background characteristics and oral self-care (OSC). Subjects and Methods: A survey in the form of a questionnaire was conducted of 327 senior dental students in seven randomly selected state dental schools in Iran. In addition to smoking habits and background characteristics, the students were asked about OSC. A recommended level of OSC was defined as a combination of brushing at least twice a day, frequent use of fluoridated toothpaste, and eating sugary snacks less than daily. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 263 students (113 males and 150 females) completely answered the questions and were included in the analyses. Results: Of the 263 students, 59 (23%, 37 males and 22 females) reported current smoking (cigarette, pipe, or water pipe). Current smoking was associated with male gender (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.4–5.6), level of father’s education (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1–1.8), and OSC (OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.3–14.9). Conclusion: Smoking among Iranian dental students is similar to their socioeconomic group, and is associated with the characteristics of their background, such as gender and father’s level of education, as well as the quality of OSC. The results indicate a need to include smoking cessation education and public health activities in the dental curriculum to provide future health care professionals and role models for patients with adequate training in up-to-date patient management to control smoking.

Background The present study evaluated the effect of two educational interventions on the knowledge and self-reported practice of primary school teachers regarding emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). Methods All primary school teachers ( n = 664) of Arak, Iran were asked to participate in the study. Based on geographic regions, all participants were enrolled in two groups: educational leaflet and oral presentation. At baseline, teachers in both groups were asked to complete an anonymous self-administrated questionnaire consisting of demographics, eight questions on knowledge, and four paper cases on self-reported practice about TDIs. After collecting the questionnaires, interventions, including an oral presentation and an educational leaflet whose contents were prepared based on the most recent scientific evidence, were implemented. One and six months after the interventions, the questionnaire was completed by the teachers again. Repeated measures ANOVA and a linear regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results Two hundred and ninety-two teachers participated in all stages of the study (response rate = 64.5%). In one-month follow-up, in both groups, the mean score of knowledge was significantly higher compared to baseline and six-month scores ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Moreover, in six-month follow-up, the mean score of knowledge was higher compared to baseline ( P < 0.001) in both intervention groups. No statistically significant difference existed in the mean score of knowledge in three evaluations between two groups ( P < 0.05). In one-month follow-up, the mean score of self-reported practice was significantly higher compared to baseline and six-month scores in both interventional groups ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in the mean score of self-reported practice between the one-month and six-month follow-up ( P = 0.53). There was no statistical significant difference in the mean score of self-reported practice in three evaluation phases between two groups ( P < 0.05). No significant relationship was observed between the difference in knowledge and self-reported practice scores and demographic factors. Conclusions Both educational interventions regarding emergency management of TDIs-educational leaflet and oral presentation- were effective in increasing knowledge and self-reported practice of teachers in the short-term follow-up. In long-term evaluation, educational leaflet resulted in more positive changes in teachers’ knowledge compared to their self-reported practice. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.118...

Background Increased engagement of adolescents in martial arts exposes them to a relatively high risk of experiencing orofacial injuries. We evaluated self-reported experience of orofacial injuries, preventive practice, and knowledge of management of sport-related orofacial injuries and related factors in adolescent Karate and Taekwondo athletes in Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on Iranian martial arts athletes including Karate and Taekwondo aged 11–17-year-old in 2020 via an online questionnaire. The anonymous self-administrated questionnaire had four parts: background (age, gender, duration of sports activity, training sessions per week, and previous education on orofacial injury); self-reported experience of orofacial injury; preventive practice including mouthguard and helmet use; and knowledge of emergency management of orofacial injuries. Preventive practice and knowledge scores were calculated by summing up the scores of corresponding questions (possibly range 0–7). A linear regression model and the Pearson correlation served for statistical analysis. Results Totally, 295 athletes with a mean age of 14.56 ± 1.91 years participated in the study. A quarter (n = 74, 25.1%) of athletes stated that they had received training on prevention of orofacial injuries. Only 3.7% (n = 11) of the participants reported the use of custom-made mouthguards, and 62% (n = 183) reported a positive history of orofacial injuries. A significant relationship existed between self-reported orofacial injury and age (β = − 0.32, p < 0.001), hours of training per week (β = 0.12, p = 0.037), type of sport (β = 0.11, p = 0.049), and previous training on orofacial injuries (β = − 0.14, p = 0.010). No difference existed in the history of orofacial injury between females (n = 114) and males (n = 69) (p = 0.374). The mean score of self-reported preventive practice and knowledge of management of orofacial injuries was 3.53 ± 1.82 (out of 7) and 1.67 ± 1.10 (out of 7), respectively. Age (β = 0.19, p = 0.002) and history of orofacial injury (β = − 0.15, p = 0.010) were associated with the score of self-reported preventive practice. Female athletes (β = 0.11, p = 0.048) and athletes who exercised more per week (β = 0.15, p = 0.012) had significantly more knowledge on management of orofacial injuries. Conclusion Adolescent athletes had relatively undesirable preventive practices and a distinct lack of knowledge. The high occurrence of self-reported orofacial injuries indicates the importance of more education and stricter rules for the athlete population.

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of health promotion interventions on early childhood caries prevention in 2-5 year-olds receiving dental treatment under general anesthesia.Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven mother-child couples presenting to the clinic of the Dental School of Tehran University of Medical Sciences for treatment under general anesthesia were randomly divided to two groups: 19 couples in the pamphlet and fluoride varnish four times a year, and 18 couples in the pamphlet plus six phone call reminders and fluoride varnish four times a year. A standard questionnaire on demographics and children oral health-related practice of parents was completed by respondents. On children's oral examination, the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S), dmft, and the presence of new white spot lesions (WS) were recorded in both phases. At the final stage, Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) was completed by parents. The length of follow-up was 24 months.Results: In both groups, there was an increase in the number of mothers who knew how to brush their children's teeth as well as the number of mothers who brushed their children's teeth (P < 0.05). In the reminder group, an improvement occurred in the mothers' perception of their perceived ability to make their children brush their teeth twice a day (P = 0.03). Clinical examination revealed a significant decrease in the OHI-S (from 1.9 ± 0.8 to 1.15 ± 0.5) and the number of WS (from 8.5 ± 5.5 to 0.08 ± 0.5) in both groups on the follow-up visit. The mean dmft was 11.0 ± 4.0 with a mean d component of 10.56 ± 4 at the baseline, which decreased significantly to 1.44 ± 1.96 after dental treatment. No significant increase was seen in new caries in the intervention groups. There was no significant difference in the ECOHIS score between the two groups.Razeghi et al. Health Promotion Interventions on ECCConclusion: The similar impact of both interventions suggests the possibility of applying the simpler one, i.e., the educational pamphlet, fluoride varnish and frequent follow-ups. However, in the reminder group, the mothers' perception of their perceived ability to make children brush their teeth twice a day was improved.

Purpose Integration of smartphones has overcome barriers in traditional education; this trial aimed at exploring this ubiquitous platform in oral health education. A smartphone application promoting preschooler’s oral health was designed and its effectiveness was compared with that of common oral health education delivered in paediatric dental settings. Methods This controlled clinical trial was performed on preschooler–mother dyads referring to the clinic of Tehran School of Dentistry in 2019–2020. Initially, the dyads were randomly partitioned to application intervention or common training groups. The mothers answered an interviewer-administered questionnaire on paediatric dentistry knowledge, attitude and practice regarding children’s oral health; modified plaque index (m-PI) and modified gingival index (m-GI) of children were measured. Subsequently, the smartphone application was installed for application intervention group and an educational pamphlet and verbal explanations were given to common training group. In 1-month and 3-month follow-ups, the questionnaires and clinical measurement were re-done. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to investigate the effect of training methods. Results Among the participants 51 dyad attended baseline and follow-up assessments. The preschoolers mean age was 4.6 ± 1.2 years and 54.4% were girls. Both trainings improved mothers’ knowledge and practice regarding children’s oral health and reduced children’s m-PI and m-GI ( p < 0.050). The 3-month follow-up revealed a better m-GI in application intervention group ( p < 0.001). Conclusions Considering the greater improvement of paediatric gingival status in the application intervention group, it appears that smartphone applications may provide a promising tool for more prolonged impacts in children oral health care. Trial registration IRCT, IRCT20131102015238N3. Registered 28 July 2019 https://en.irct.ir/trial/40933 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40368-022-00731-9.

To successful control of medical emergencies in the dental office, dentists must be prepared to recognize and manage a variety of such conditions. In addition to dentist's knowledge and skill, availability of necessary equipments and trained staff is also of critical importance.

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Objective:Nowadays, one of the major health problems in many countries is tobacco use. Dental professionals are in a unique position to promote smoking cessation since they have the opportunity for regular interaction with their patients. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of two educational methods to teach tobacco cessation counseling (TCC) in dental practice for senior dental students.Materials and Methods:In this interventional study, 93 eligible senior dental students from two dental schools in Tehran, Iran were randomly divided into two groups. Two educational programs, role play (RP) and problem-based learning (PBL), with the same aim about TCC in dental practice, were developed and implemented for the two groups. The score of knowledge, attitude, and skill were determined in both groups before and after participation in the course using a questionnaire. The changes in the scores from pre- to post-test were statistically analyzed using repeated measure ANOVA test.Results:Total scores of knowledge, attitude, and skill of the participants showed improvements when compared to scores before training (P < 0.001, P = 0.003, and P < 0.001, respectively). However, the differences between the two study methods were statistically insignificant (P > 0.05).Conclusion:The results suggested that TCC training through RP and PBL methods leads to improvement in knowledge, attitude, and skills of dental students in the short-term evaluation.