BackgroundThe authors conducted a study aimed to assess the awareness and attitude among dental students and residents at King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry (KAUFD) toward using dental magnification.MethodsAn e-questionnaire was formulated then sent to dental students and residents (n = 651). The questionnaire included questions that assessed both the awareness and attitude toward using dental magnification. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22. The chi-square test was used to establish relationships between categorical variables.ResultsThe response rate was 69.7 % (n = 454). Of those, 78.1 % did not use magnification during dental procedures. However, 81.8 % agreed that dental magnification could enhance the accuracy and quality of their dental work. Thus, 91.6 % thought it would be useful in endodontics and 46.3 % voted for surgery. Of the 21.9 % that used magnification, dental loupes were mostly used, 55.9 %. The majority (59.4 %) of the participants believed that using dental magnification should be introduced by faculty beginning in Year I of dental school.ConclusionsAmong our respondents, most of the undergraduate students did not use dental magnification nor attended courses in the use of dental magnifications. However, most of the students were aware of its significance in improving the accuracy and quality of their work.

This review assessed the most up-to-date literature on the accuracy of detecting vertical root fractures (VRFs] using the currently available diagnostic imaging methods. In addition, an overview of the biological and clinical aspects of VRFs will also be discussed. A systematic review of the literature was initiated in December of 2015 and then updated in May of 2016. The electronic databases searched included PubMed, Emabse, Ovid, and Google Scholar. An assessment of the methodological quality was performed using a modified version of the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies tool. Twenty-two studies were included in this systematic review after applying specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of those, 12 favored using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for detecting VRF as compared to periapical radiographs, whereas 5 reported no differences between the two methods. The remaining 5 studies confirmed the advantages associated with using CBCT when diagnosing VRF and described the parameters and limitations associated with this method, but they were not comparative studies. In conclusion, overwhelming evidence suggests that the use of CBCT is a preferred method for detecting VRFs. Nevertheless, additional well controlled and high quality studies are needed to produce solid evidence and guidelines to support the routine use of CBCT in the diagnosis of VRFs as a standard of care.

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and a major risk factor for heart diseases and strokes. A lot of undiagnosed or uncontrolled hypertensive patients seek dental treatment in regular basis. However, neither doctors nor patients are doing enough to fight and diagnose this silent killer disease. This study investigated the prevalence of undiagnosed or uncontrolled hypertensive patients who visited our endodontic clinic for dental treatment.