Objective: To determine if the traditional chewing stick Miswak was as effective in cleaning teeth as Toothbrush. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi, from Aug 2020 to Jan 2021. Methodology: A total of 300 subjects were included which were divided in two groups on the basis of whether they used miswak or toothbrush as a cleaning aid. Group A was toothbrush users and group B was Miswak user. Plaque Index was used to determine the cleanliness of teeth. The scores were recorded and data analyzed using SPSS-23. Results: The means and standard deviations of Plaque Index score for group A and B were 0.96 ± 0.58 and 0.98 ± 0.56 respectively. The comparison of Plaque Index score for both groups was insignificant with the p-value of 0.083. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it is concluded that, no significant difference was found in the effectiveness of traditional miswak and tooth brush. It is recommended that if the technique of teeth cleaning is good then any of the abovementioned means of teeth cleaning can be used.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of elevated C reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin in predicting severe Covid-19 infection using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covid-19 severity classification as gold standard. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 1st 2021 till April 30th 2021. Ethical review committee’s (ERC) approval was taken and good clinical practice guidelines were followed. Material and Methods: Baseline blood samples were sent to the hospital laboratory for the measurement of C reactive protein and ferritin levels. PCR was taken as gold standard for the diagnosis of Corona virus disease. Patients were classified into severe and non-severe categories using WHO classification of severity. Sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy, negative predictive value and positive predictive value were calculated for elevated CRP and ferritin. Results: There were 65 (57.5%) patients who had severe Covid-19 disease and 48 (42.5%) patients who had non-severe Covid-19 disease. Among the patients with severe Covid-19, 57 (87.7%) had elevated CRP levels, and 50 (76.9%) patients had elevated ferritin levels. Testing ferritin levels, against the severity of Covid-19 patients, there was a sensitivity of 76.9%, specificity of 79.2%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 83.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 71.7% and diagnostic accuracy of 77.8%. Testing CRP levels, there was a sensitivity of 87.7%, specificity of 85.4%, PPV of 89.1%, NPV of 83.6% and diagnostic accuracy of 86.7%. Conclusion: The results from our study show that CRP has a slightly improved diagnostic accuracy as compared to ferritin. However, both these markers have value in the prediction of severity of Covid-19 infection. Keywords: Covid-19, elevated C reactive protein and ferritin.

Aesthetic treatment is done to improve one's appearance. Digital Smile Design, Computer-aided design and Computer-aided manufacturing (CADCAM) dentistry have revolutionized aesthetic dentistry. First, involving patients in treatment planning increases patient confidence and a happier outcome. Secondly, decreased appointments and decreased overall treatment time also facilitate patients in today's busy lifestyle. However, this treatment method is uncommon in Pakistan due to a lack of knowledge and expensive equipment. This article aims to create awareness among the dentists so newer advanced treatment modality is adopted in Pakistan, bringing us at par with other countries.