Dental professionals have a major role in the fight against the spread and transmission of COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate awareness and practice of dentists in Saudi Arabia regarding COVID-19 and the utilization of infection control methods. A 24-item questionnaire was developed and distributed through social media to 627 dentists working in Saudi Arabia. 177 questionnaires were completed (28.2% response rate). Most dentists were aware about the transmission, incubation time and main clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Almost 83% of the respondents appreciate the risk of droplets, aerosols and airborne particles in transmission of COVID-19 in the dental clinic. Among the common practices of participants are measuring patient’s body temperature before undertaking a dental treatment (88.7%), cleaning the environmental surfaces at the dental clinic after each patient (91.5%) and restriction of dental treatment to emergency cases (82.5%). It seems that practicing dentists in Saudi Arabia are fairly aware about COVID-19. The practices of the surveyed dentists appear to be mostly consistent with the current guidelines and recommendations for infection control of COVID-19 in the dental clinic. Some drawbacks in knowledge and a number of inappropriate practices can be identified and require the attention of health authorities.

AIM: The aim of the study is to investigate the role of myoepithelial cells in the pathogenesis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) using the double immunohistochemical staining; α _smooth muscle actin (_α-SMA)as specific marker for the myoepithelial cell differentiation and proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) as a marker for proliferative activity of myoepithelial cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of twenty salivary gland specimens (ten MEC and ten normal salivary glands) were studied using double immunohistochemical labeling for α _smooth muscle actin α-SMA) and proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). The SPSS statistical package was used for data analysis (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0, Released 2011, IBM Corp, and Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: In mucoepidermoid carcinomas, no positivity of α-SMA was seen in neoplastic cells (Frequent test), and it was just observed in the stroma of tumor, in the walls of blood vessels whereas, PCNA was positive, especially in high-grade tumors. In contrast, in normal salivary glands, the proliferating myoepithelial cells are stained by both α-SMA and PCNA. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the myoepithelial cells have no a role in the development of mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

AIMS: COVID-19 is a new virus which has spread to most countries in the world. Many papers have been published on the clinical manifestations of this virus. This paper concentrates only on the clinical cases and prognosis of COVID-19 presented in the literature. METHODS: Systematic review is done, and taken into consideration, all published papers in the literature related to COVID-19. Inclusion and exclusion criteria have been applied. RESULTS: Few papers have been determined after many filtrations of all published papers concerning inclusion and exclusion criteria to assess outcome of existing COVID-19. Most published papers or reports did not provide full details for each case. CONCLUSION: Most clinical description data in these reports are so limited and missing some of the critical elements such as the date of infection, source of infection, symptoms, diagnostic criteria, incubation of infection, transmission of infection, number of identified cases after contact with infected patients, and health workers are affected or not by treatment of infected patients, patient age, and type of study. No clear evidence of the treatment plan and the prevention and most data in literature depending on personal experience only which is different from country to others.

Background: It is essential for practicing dentists to have adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its implications in the dental practice. Their attitudes should also be up to the professional expectations. This study aimed to assess knowledge of HIV/AIDS infection and attitudes towards its patients among dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A questionnaire was prepared and distributed among a sample of dental students in Saudi Arabia. Twenty questions related to knowledge, attitudes, and oral manifestation of HIV were presented. Results: A total of 405 questionnaires were completed (67% response rate). Participants showed low knowledge of safety regarding HIV (39.5%) and 44.2% indicated that they would take an HIV test after needle stick injury. The proportion of correct answers regarding transmission of HIV through saliva, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and aerosols by hand pieces was 41%, 37.5%, and 26.4%, respectively. Almost 50% of the surveyed dental students expressed unwillingness to treat HIV-positive patients. Poor knowledge was noted regarding oral manifestations of HIV (32.7%). Of the participants, 57.8% indicated that infection control procedures are very important for the treatment of HIV patients and 50.6% believed that a dentist can make a decision to reject the treatment of HIV patients. According to the participating dental students, the three major oral manifestations in HIV patients are hairy leukoplakia (47.4%), oral candidiasis (44.7%), and Kaposi’s sarcoma (43.5%). Conclusion: Inadequate knowledge and unprofessional attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients were identified among this group of dental students in Saudi Arabia. Dental educators and health care planners in Saudi Arabia should plan to promote the knowledge and attitudes of dental students in Saudi Arabia towards the treatment of HIV patients.

Purpose: This study sought to investigate the acceptance rate and associated factors of COVID-19 vaccines among dentists and dental students in seven countries. Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire prepared and guided by the report of the SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy was distributed among groups of dentists and dental students in seven countries across four continents. Results: A total of 1527 subjects (850 dentists and 677 dental students) participated in this survey. Although 72.5% of the respondents reported their intention to accept COVID-19 vaccines (dentists: 74.4%, dental students: 70.2%), there was a significant difference in agreement between dentists/dental students across countries; generally, respondents in upper-middle-, and high-income countries (UM-HICs) showed significantly higher acceptance rates compared to those in low- and lower-middle income countries (L-LMICs). Potential predictors of higher vaccine acceptance included being a dentist, being free of comorbidity, being well-informed about COVID-19 vaccines, having better knowledge about COVID-19 complications, having anxiety about COVID-19 infection, having no concerns about the side effects of the produced vaccines and being a resident of an UM-HIC. Conclusion: The results of our survey indicate a relatively good acceptance rate of COVID-19 among the surveyed dentists and dental students. However, dentists and dental students in L-LMICs showed significantly lower vaccine acceptance rates and trust in COVID-19 vaccines compared to their counterparts in UM-HICs. Our results provide important information to policymakers, highlighting the need for implementation of country-specific vaccine promotion strategies, with special focus on L-LMICs.