Background The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a new viral respiratory illness, first identified in Wuhan province, China. Dental professionals and dental students are at an increased risk for these viruses from dental patients, as dental practice involves face-to-face communication with the patients and frequent exposure to saliva, blood, and other body fluids. Dental education can play an important role in the training of dental students, adequate knowledge and adopting attitudes regarding infection control measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and clinical education of dental students about COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A total of 355 pre-clinical and clinical dental students (242 and 113, respectively, comprising 190 females and 165 males) at Fırat University Dentistry Faculty, in Elazığ, Turkey answered an online questionnaire about the biosafety procedures for and their attitudes to and knowledge of COVID-19. The study was conducted in March 2020, Turkey. The data gained were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and chi-square test. Results Both the clinical and preclinical students were found to be afraid of infecting themselves and their environment with COVID-19, and the difference between them was statistically significant. Three quarters (74.9%) of the participants responded yes to the question of whether they thought that experiences related to COVID-19 affected them psychologically, with the differences between gender and clinical status were statistically significant. Responses to the question of which clinical rotation worried them more were 29.9% endodontics, 25.1% oral and maxillofacial surgery, 16.3% prosthesis, 15.2% periodontology, 6.8% restorative dentistry, 3.9% oral diagnosis and radiology, 1.7% pedodontics, and 1.1% orthodontics, with a significant difference between the preclinical and clinical students. Regarding the measures applied by the clinical students in their clinical rotation, the responses were 100% gloves and 100% mask (with 11.5% FFP3/N95 mask), 73.6% face protective shield and 37.1% safety glasses, and 49% bonnet and 16.8% disposable box, with 90.2% frequent hand washing, and 86.7% frequent hand antiseptic usage. Conclusions While students gave good responses regarding the standard measures they take to protect against transmission of COVID-19, their knowledge and attitudes about the extra measures they can take should be improved. For students to be least affected by fears associated with the disease, dental faculties should be ready to provide psychological services to those in need.

BackgroundDental anxiety is a widespread problem in many populations. This problem can be a barrier to dental care and may lead to poor oral health. Dental anxiety may be related to psychological status.AimsThe aim of the present study was to assess the levels of dental anxiety, dental fear, Beck Depression, and state-trait anxiety according to age, gender and education level in patients at the periodontology clinic in the Diyarbakır Mouth and Dental Health Center.Study DesignA total of 231 patients (115 males, 116 females) filled out dental fear scale (DFS), dental anxiety scale (DAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), state-trait anxiety inventory-state (STAI-S), and state-trait anxiety inventory–trait (STAI-T) questionnaires, and evaluations of DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T were conducted according to age, gender, and education level.ResultsThe mean DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-T, and STAI –S were 45.64, 9.15, 13.16, 38.90, and 40.18, respectively. There was a significant association among DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05). These surveys scores were significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.05). The results of this study indicated that gender age and education level have important effects on DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05).ConclusionDental anxiety and dental fear were found to be related to psychological status (BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T) over time. There are some patients with unaddressed psychological distress.

The Internet Addiction Scale (IAS) is a self-report instrument based on the seven substance dependence criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and two additional criteria recommended by Griffiths. The IAS was administered to 300 high school students along with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Submissive Acts Scale (SAS). For test-retest reliability, the IAS was administered a second time 7 days after the first administration. An interitem reliability reduced the initial scale from 31 to 27 items (with Cronbach's alpha of 0.94). The factor analysis suggests the existence mainly of one factor in the IAS. Correlation analyses indicated that BDI and SAS were significantly correlated positively with the IAS. One-week test-retest correlation for the IAS was highly significant. According to these results, the psychometric properties of the IAS are promising.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic restraint stress (RS) and a high-fat diet (HFD) on the osseointegration of titanium implants in a rat model. After the surgical insertion of titanium implants into the metaphysis of the tibial bone, the rats were randomly divided into four equal groups (n = 8 each): control (CNT), restraint stress (RS), high-fat diet (HFD), and restraint stress plus high fat diet (RS-HFD). CNT: Rats received no further treatment during the 92-day experimental period. RS: Stress was applied to the rats beginning from two days after the implant surgery for one hour per day for the first 30 days, two hours per day for the next 30 days, and three hours per day for the last 30 days. HFD: Rats were fed a HFD for the following 90 days starting two days after surgery. RS-HFD: Rats were fed a HFD and RS was applied to rats for the following 90 days, starting two days after surgery. At the end of the experimental period, the rats were euthanized, and the implants and surrounding bone tissues were removed for histological analysis. Statistical analysis was performed by one way ANOVA and Bonferrroni tests. There were no significant differences in the bone-implant connection levels between the groups (p > 0.05), but in the HFD and RS-HFD groups, the bone filling ratios were found to be lower compared with the controls (p < 0.05) The data analyzed in this study suggest that an HFD with or without chronic RS adversely affected bone tissue in the rats during the 90-day osseointegration period.

This study examined the effects of different levels of chronic restraint stress on bone–titanium implant contact in rats. This study included 32 adult female Sprague–Dawley rats. The machined surface titanium implants were surgically placed into the metaphyseal region of the rat tibias. Next, the rats were divided randomly into 4 groups, namely, control (CNT) (n = 8), low-restraint stress (LRS) (n = 8), medium-restraint stress (MRS) (n = 8), and high-restraint stress (HRS) (n = 8) groups. The rats in the CNT group received only the titanium implants surgically but did not receive any further treatment during the experimental period of 30 days. The rats in the LRS, MRS, and HRS groups were applied restraint stress for 1, 2, and 4 hours, respectively, daily for 28 days starting from day 2 after the surgery. At the end of the study period, the rats were sacrificed and their implants and the surrounding bone tissues were harvested for performing nondecalcified histological analysis. Moreover, blood samples were collected from the rats and were centrifuged for analyzing serum cortisol levels. Serum cortisol levels of the rats in the LRS, MRS, and HRS groups were higher than those of the rats in the CNT group (P < 0.05). Moreover, serum cortisol levels of the rats in the HRS group were higher than those of the rats in the MRS and LRS groups (P < 0.05). The extent of bone–implant contact was lower in the rats in the HRS group than in the rats in the CNT and LRS groups (P < 0.05). These data suggest that the application of 4-hour chronic restraint stress during the 28-day experimental period impaired the bone–implant contact.