Objectives Public mental health concerns have been raised during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the psychological impact of the pandemic on dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross‐sectional analytical study was conducted among dental students from different universities in Saudi Arabia selected using 2‐stage cluster sampling. The psychological impact was assessed using the validated Arabic version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 Item questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used as appropriate. A chi‐squared test was used to compare the proportions between the sociodemographic data and logistic regression analysis to identify variables associated with the student's responses. Results The internal consistency of the scale was excellent (0.954). A total of 697 dental students participated voluntarily in the study; their mean age was 21.76 ± 1.859 years, and 54.7% were female. The majority (96.1%) were single, and 69.4% lived in a household of > 5 persons. Significant differences in mental health outcomes were evident for gender, university, and survey time. Elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were recorded among 60.64%, 37.02%, and 34.92%, respectively, of the students. Females, students who lived alone, and junior students were more likely to experience psychological problems during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusions The presence of elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress among dental students highlights the need for psychological empowerment strategies involving institutional counseling services.

Steroidal dexamethasone is as effective as non-steroidal ibuprofen for preventing or controlling postoperative pain and discomfort after surgical implant placement.

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Background Schizophrenia is a chronic psychosis marked by multiple bioenvironmental and immunological dysregulation with its intricate role in etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease remaining unclear. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the association between periodontal disease and schizophrenia in relation with cortisol levels. Methods The study is in descriptive design comprised of 40 subjects randomly selected (20 schizophrenic patients as Group A and 20 healthy volunteers as group B). All the study participants underwent complete periodontal examination including scoring of gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), Probing depths (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL). Salivary cortisol levels are estimated using ELISA. Link between schizophrenia and periodontal disease is described in relation to cortisol levels with elimination of other shared risk factors, such as tobacco smoking and xerostomia. Results Significant higher values of periodontal parameters are observed in Group A with schizophrenic patients (GI 2.467 ± 0.528; PI 2.402 ± 0.526; PD 2.854 ± 0.865; CAL 1.726 ± 3.096) than Group B with healthy subjects (GI 0.355 ± 0.561; PI 0.475 ± 0.678; PD 1.493 ± 0.744; CAL 0.108 ± 0.254). However, cortisol levels are lower in schizophrenic group (0.190 ± 0.059) than non-schizophrenic group (0.590 ± 0.228) ruling out the possible role of cortisol in periodontal disease severity associated with schizophrenic patients. Conclusion Findings of this study, provides ground evidence for consideration of schizophrenia as a risk factor for periodontitis and demands greater emphasis on management of schizophrenic patients in dental setting similar to other comorbid disorders such as diabetes mellitus and also incorporating periodontal care measures in the clinical guidelines for schizophrenia management.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between periodontitis and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) via cone-beam-computed tomography (CBCT) using the Lund–Mackay staging system. CBCT images from different departments of the school of dentistry, at Prince Sattam University were evaluated for the presence of rhinosinusitis. All the CBCT scans were exposed for multiple indications, and no patients had a scan exposed solely for this study. The Lund–Mackay staging system was used to measure the CRS in the CBCT. Descriptive statistics for the frequencies and percentages were used to summarize the data. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between periodontitis and CRS. Each variable was assessed individually by using multivariable analysis. Collinearity issues among the variables were solved to select a limited set of factors using a stepwise variable selection procedure. A total of 399 CBCT images were included in the current research. Logistic regression showed that only gender was significantly associated (p = 0.0001) with the presence of CRS. However, a stepwise variable selection procedure included gender and bone loss as significantly associated with CRS. No significant difference was observed between unilateral vs. bilateral CRS in gender, bone loss, medical status, and periodontitis. However, only gender showed a significant difference in both bilateral vs. no CRS and unilateral vs. no CRS. Periodontitis is not associated with CRS. However, gender has a significant influence on CRS.