Most COVID-19 cases are treated as outpatients, while the majority of studies on COVID-19 focus on inpatients. Little is known about the self-reporting and self-rating of the disease’s symptoms, and the associations of prophylactic use of dietary supplements with COVID-19 severity have not been addressed. The aims of this study are to evaluate COVID-19 severity and to relate them to sociodemographic characteristics and prophylactic dietary supplements. An observational patient-based study conducted through an online questionnaire on recovered COVID-19 patients. The patients were assessed for several severity parameters, sociodemographic parameters, and prophylactic dietary supplement use. A total of 428 patients were evaluated. Age and presence of comorbidities had positive associations with the severity parameters. The severe infection group had the highest proportion of patients stressed about COVID-19 (P < 0.05). Cigarette, but not hookah, smoking was significantly associated with less severe symptoms. Vitamin D negatively predicted disease severity (P < 0.05). In conclusion, stress, age, and presence of comorbidities were the most important positive predictors of COVID-19 severity, while prophylactic vitamin D use and smoking were significant negative predictors. The use of protective measures and other prophylactic dietary supplements was not significantly associated with symptom severity.

Objectives The present study aims to reveal the systemic effects of submucosal injection of plasma-rich platelets (PRP) on blood inflammatory markers which was used in an attempt to reduce the retraction time of the upper canine following extraction of upper maxillary premolars for patients with bimaxillary protrusion. Hypothesis No change on comparing the values of blood inflammatory markers before and after submucosal injection of PRP. Methods Eighteen female patients with bimaxillary protusion were selected from patients seeking orthodontic treatment from the College of Dentistry/University of Sulaimai, whose maxillary and mandibular first premolars were decided to be extracted after proper diagnosis. Thirty-three blood markers (twenty hematological and thirteen biochemical markers) were estimated before orthodontic bracketing, 24 hours and 7 days following submucosal injection of PRP (5 cc) to reveal the systematic effect of PRP on blood inflammatory markers that were used in an attempt to reduce the retraction time of the upper canine following extraction of upper maxillary premolars for patients with bimaxillary protrusion. Results The results indicate nonsignificant differences in the values of all blood markers except for gamma GT (GGT), PDWa, serum albumin, serum total protein, and total calcium. Gamma level significantly increased for both test intervals. On the other hand, there was a significant drop in the value of PDWa while for alkaline phosphatase, there was a drop within the first 24 hr of PRP injection while after 7 days the value was significantly increased. On the other hand, there was a drop in the level of serum albumin, while there was an increase in the serum total protein and total calcium. Conclusion Submucosal injection of PRP could lead to systematic alteration of blood parameters including ALK phosphatase, gamma GT, serum albumin, and serum total protein, which may be related to liver function in addition to increase in the level of PDWa and serum calcium. We present evidence that PRP contains and may trigger systemic effect. Thus, further investigation is recommended to follow up the patient for a longer period of time and on a larger sample. This trial is registered with U1111-1221-8829 by Sri Lanka Clinical Trial Registry, SLCTR/2018/040, and No. 64 on 6th August 2018 at the local clinical studies database, College of Dentistry.

BACKGROUND: Health-care workers have to use the N95 mask as a part of the protection kit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adverse effects of such practice are not fully elucidated. The study aims to evaluate negative impacts of N95 face masks on health-care personnel at COVID-19 care units. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-two health-care workers (aged 20–58 years) from various health-care settings in Sulaimani, Iraq, from January to August 2020, were enrolled in this prospective, cross-sectional study. The physiological variables (blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation) were recorded before putting on the N95 mask and postremoval of the mask. The incidence of adverse effects such as headache, difficulty breathing, redness, irritation, and dizziness were also reported as a number and percent at the end of the work shift. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the physiological parameters after removal of the mask compared with baseline. Only diastolic pressure was significantly lower in those working >6 h when compared to those working 1–6 h. The changes in physiological markers were poorly and nonsignificantly associated with the duration of wearing the mask. Moreover, 67.2%–70.5% of the participants complain of headaches and breathing difficulties, while 45.9%–51.6% reported signs of itching, redness, and irritation. However, health-care workers who put on the face mask >6 h showed signs of headache, breathing difficulties, and itching at the exposed areas higher than those working for 1–6 h. CONCLUSION: N95 mask negatively impacts the physiological variables of health-care providers. The adverse effects may lead to excessive exhaustion after long shifts in the intensive care unit during treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The current study aimed to find a prediction equation to estimate the arch perimeter (AP) depending on various arch dimensions including intercanine width (ICW), intermolar width (IMW), interpremolar width (IPMW), and arch length (AL) in a sample of the Kurdish population in Sulaimani City. The study sample was 100 pairs of preorthodontic dental casts. Calculations of dental arch dimensions and perimeter were performed by a digital vernier. Statistical analysis was performed via using the SPSS version 25 software. The developed prediction equation for the upper arch was Y = + 1.3 × arch   length + 1 × intermolar   width , whereas the equation for the lower arch was Y = + 0.9 × intermolar   width + 0.92 × intercanine   width . Paired t -test revealed no statistical difference between predicted and real arch perimeters. Two separate prediction equations for upper and lower arches were developed based on the arch length (AL) and intermolar width (IMW) for the maxillary arch, intermolar (IMW), and inter canine widths (ICW) for the lower arch. The developed equations could have further beneficial impacts on orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.

Background: Numerous studies have investigated the applicability of Pont’s index using a variety of selection criteria. The morphology of teeth and the shapes of the face are significantly influenced by racial, cultural, and environmental factors, so the current study focused on these demographics. Methods: This study is a retrospective study and included one hundred intraoral scanned images selected from patients seeking orthodontic treatment. Medit design software was used to obtain the real measurements and compare them to the predicted values from Pont’s index. Paired t tests were used to test the validity of Pont’s index, and regression equations were advocated to predict the inter-molar, inter-premolar, and anterior arch widths via SPSS version 25. Results: There were significant differences between the real anterior, inter-premolar, and inter-molar widths and the predicted values obtained from Pont’s index, and there were weak positive correlations between the real values and the predicted values from Pont’s index. Conclusions: Pont’s index is not reliable to predict the arch widths for the Kurdish population, and new formulas are advocated. Hence, space analysis, malocclusion treatment, and arch expansion therapy should all take into account these results. Therefore, the derived equations may have further positive effects on diagnoses and treatment preparation.