Introduction Tobacco kills half of its users. Despite this, there are over 1.1 billion smokers worldwide. Its harmful effects impair performance and readiness. Unfortunately, smoking has deeply ingrained in the military culture, as evidenced by the high prevalence. Hence, this study aims to identify the barriers to smoking cessation among this population. Methods A study involving two groups of current smokers (commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers) was conducted using the modified nominal group technique (mNGT), a qualitative research method of judgmental decision-making involving four phases: Generating ideas, recording, evaluation, and prioritization. The mNGT was used to solicit respondents’ barriers to smoking cessation. Results The mNGT yielded seven main barriers to smoking cessation: (1) Addiction, (2) difficulty in staying focused without the usage of cigarettes, (3) smoking has been incorporated into an individual’s lifestyle, (4) environmental influence, (5) coping mechanism, (6) the long-interval period between orders and duties exacerbates the desire to smoke, and (7) smoking has evolved into a permanent habit. Although nicotine addiction and habit were ranked as the most important barriers, the military working environment and nature of the job exposed them physically and mentally to unfavorable situations, complicating the quitting attempt. Furthermore, the acceptance of smoking in military culture leads to a positive smoker identity, further hindering cessation. Conclusions The findings indicate that in addition to barriers affecting the general population, military-specific barriers related to the nature of the job exist, complicating cessation. Hence, any intervention program should address these barriers to achieve positive outcomes.

Objectives: To assess and compare the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of orthodontic patients who had and had not undergone micro-osteoperforations (MOPs) during orthodontic space closure. Methods: 27 orthodontic patients with fixed appliance who are undergoing orthodontic space closure with Niti coil springs were given the validated short version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (Malaysia) Questionnaire (S-OHIP) which was available in both Bahasa Melayu and English, containing 14 items. 17 patients underwent MOPs (MOP group) while 10 patients did not (control). Additive scores (ADD) were calculated by summing the response codes for the 14 items and simple count scores (SC) were calculated by a count of the number of items reported as occurring ‘quite often’ and ‘very often’. Results: A total of 24 patients responded to the questionnaire, with a response rate of 88.9%, and they comprised of 79.2% females and 20.8% males. There is no significant difference in the mean ADD (p = 0.347) and mean SC (p = 0.446) across both groups. Conclusions: The reported oral health-related quality of life is similar for orthodontic patients who did and did not undergo MOPs.

Objective: To evaluate feasibility of hand gloves as a rubber dam isolation alternative, in respect of physical properties. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled trial study design was used. Three types of gloves were tested with two types of a rubber dam used as the control group. Cut-out pattern of dumb-bell shapes were made from 35 samples for each type of groups and tensile strength were tested using Universal Testing Machine and the Trapezium X software. All tests for physical requirements were performed in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials D412, Standard Test Methods for Vulcanized Rubber and Thermoplastic Rubbers and Thermoplastic Elastomers-Tension. Findings were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and differences were compared using a Tukey-Kramer interval calculated at the 0.05 significance level. Results: Heavy gauge rubber dam has the highest Mean (calculated at the 0.05 significance level) except for maximum stress calculated at entire area. Medium-gauge rubber dam has significantly higher tensile strength (44.5075 N/mm2) when compared to heavy-gauge rubber dam (35.7787 N/mm2) although it was 0.09mm thinner. Discovery 2020 Powder Free Latex Examination Gloves with tensile strength value of 28.5922 N/mm2 (±3.27366) is more than the minimum requirement specified by American Federal Specification ZZ-R90B Rubber Dam (Dental, 1985) (4000 pounds per square inch or 27.6 N/mm2). For all variable tested, all groups are significantly different from each other. The mean square between the groups was quite large. Conclusion: This study shows that there are significant differences between the physical strength of latex gloves when compared to rubber dam. However, the comparison between thickness and tensile strength among various rubber dam, did not correspond proportionately. Only one type of rubber gloves met the minimum requirement but that is just one aspect. In view of these mixed results, more research is needed before we can conclude that it is feasable that we use hand gloves to replace rubber dam.