Our results showed a lack of knowledge of sports participants about management and prevention of traumatic dental injuries. Educational programs should be organized to give information about emergency treatment and promote the use of mouthguards to sport participants.

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Background Dental education plays an important role in providing students with the opportunity to develop their evidence-based knowledge and clinical skills regarding patient-specific preventive care and caries management strategies. The aims of this study were to examine the knowledge, attitude, and self-perceived competency towards preventive dentistry among final-year dental students and to investigate their preventive practice for high-caries-risk children. Methods. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 126 dental students using a questionnaire. The IBM SPSS Statistics version 21 was used for data analysis. Results A total of 126 students completed the questionnaire, and 63% of the respondents were female. Significant gender differences were found in the total Professional Preventive Knowledge Scale (PPKS) (p=0.016) and its subscales of the noncariogenic nutrition (p=0.015), dental hygiene/clinical examination (p < 0.001), caries-preventive practice (p=0.02), and the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) (p=0.028). Significant differences were observed in the total PPKS (p=0.003) and its subscales of the noncariogenic nutrition (p=0.043) and caries risk management (p=0.006) in terms of self-perceived need to receive education and training. Caries-preventive practice was correlated with the self-perceived competency (r = 0.279; p=0.002), the attitudes (r = 0.394; p < 0.001), the total PPKS (r = 0.457; p < 0.001) and its all subscales of dental hygiene and clinical examination (r = 0.425; p < 0.001), noncariogenic nutrition (r = 0.410; p < 0.001), and caries risk management (r = 0.184; p=0.039). The self-perceived competency was positively correlated with the total PPKS (r = 0.192; p=0.031) and its subscale of noncariogenic nutrition (r = 0.259; p=0.003). Greater self-perceived competence, more positive attitudes, and good knowledge regarding preventive dentistry were found to be important predictors of the caries-preventive practice of dental students, explaining 31% of the variance (adjusted R2 = 0.312, p < 0.001). Conclusion 40% of dental students reported educational and training needs regarding the diagnosis, caries-preventive agents, and risk-based treatment plan. These results should be taken into account by the stakeholders in developing the national core curriculum for undergraduate Turkish dental education.

Purpose: Space maintainers are important for the health and placement of children’s primary and permanent teeth. However, plaque and caries levels can be negatively affected when a dental appliance is in the mouth. This study aims to evaluate the oral health of pediatric patients that have space maintainers applied as a result of early tooth loss. Methods: This study included 100 systemically healthy patients between the ages of 4-15 years that were treated with space maintainers due to early loss of teeth. Decayed, missing, filled tooth index values and dental plaque status of the participants were recorded. Controls were performed in the 6th and 12th month. The index results were compared and evaluated statistically using ANOVA and paired-t-tests. Results: A total of 116 space maintainers, including 36 band and loops, 16 lingual arches, 21 palatal arches, 43 removable appliances, were evaluated in the study. Statistically significant differences were found between the pre-treatment and post-treatment index values (p<0.001). In the group of band and loops and removable space maintainers; the increases in DMFT/dft values of 6th month and 12th month according to initial DMFT/dft values were statistically significant (p<0.05). For plaque index, the increase in 12th month of all types of appliances were found statistically significant (p<0.001). The greatest increase in plaque index level was seen in the teeth of patients that had been treated with a lingual arch. Conclusions: Incompatible space maintainers can lead to caries, increased plaque accumulation, demineralized areas, and periodontal problems. The accumulation of plaque and difficulty of cleaning the teeth, especially in the fixed space maintainers, negatively affects the health of teeth. For this reason, good oral hygiene should be provided to patients and controls should be regularly performed.