Objective To investigate the confidence level of final year dental students in Riyadh. Materials Cross-sectional study was conducted at four dental colleges in Riyadh (N = 312, 220 and 70,5% responded). Oneway ANOVA and post hoc Tukey-Kramer was used. Results The greatest self-reported confidence scores were for pit fissure sealent (4.6(0.7)). Whereas, students reported least confidence in conducting surgical extractions (2.7 (1.2)). Females were found more confident in conducting preventive resin restorations, oral hygiene instructions, and rubber dam placement as compared to male who were more confident in surgical extraction, copy dentures, veneer preparation and managing orthodontic emergencies. Conclusion All students were confident in performing essential dental procedures however higher confidence was observed in performing simple procedures compared to more complex ones.

This study evaluated the effects of the sintering temperature on Vickers microhardness and three-point flexural strength values of two multi-layered zirconia materials. Multi-layered zirconia systems with four distinct layers were selected: DD cube ONE ML (4Y-TZP) and DD cubeX2 ML (5Y-TZP). In total, 96 plate-shaped A2-shade specimens were obtained using individual layers of these two zirconia materials. The individual layers were then divided equally into batches with three different sintering temperatures (1300, 1450, and 1600 °C), and the Vickers microhardness was assessed. Another group of 72 bar-shaped specimens was prepared from the same materials. These were similarly divided into three different sintering temperatures, and the flexural strength was assessed. SEM was used to conduct fractographic analyses. The data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 software with a p-value < 0.05. The microhardness and flexural strength of 4Y-TZP were higher than those of the 5Y-TZP at all the sintering temperatures. A significant difference was found in the microhardness and flexural strength values between groups sintered at different sintering temperatures (p < 0.05). The highest microhardness and flexural strength values were found at 1450 °C (p < 0.05). The microhardness values of different layers were not significantly different (p > 0.05). The sintering temperature and type of ceramic material significantly affected the microhardness and flexural strength. However, the layers did not significantly affect the microhardness.