Plants have been used for centuries to improve dental health and to promote oral hygiene, and this practice persists in several communities throughout the world. "Miswak" is an Arabic word meaning "tooth-cleaning stick," and Salvadora persica miswak has a wide geographic distribution. It was used by ancient Arabs to whiten and polish the teeth. This review discusses the history and chemical composition of S. persica miswak and its influence on oral health, including the advantages and disadvantages of its use.

Aim:The purpose of this study was to determine the career motivations, perceptions of the future of dentistry and preferred postgraduate specialties of Saudi dental students. Methods:A pretested, self-administered, 16-item questionnaire was distributed to first- through fifth-year dental students at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and the level of significance was set at 5%. Results:Of the 530 potential participants, 329 students (198 male and 131 female respondents) completed the questionnaire. High professional status (71.4%), a secure career (67.8%), a high income (78.1%), flexible working hours (54.4%), a wide range of career options after graduation (59.3%), opportunities for self-employment (69.3%) and good job opportunities abroad (65.3%) were endorsed to a great/considerable extent by the respondents. “It takes time to establish a practice” (62.3%), “Postgraduate education is a necessity” (72.4%) and “The increasing number of dental institutions is a threat to the profession” (59.3%) were endorsed to a great or considerable extent by the respondents. The most popular specialty among the male students was oral maxillofacial surgery (20.1%) and among female students was operative dentistry (23.4%). Conclusion: The career motivations of this group of dental students seemed to relate to socioeconomic aspects of dentistry and perceptions of the future of dentistry seemed to relate to the need for postgraduate education.

BackgroundStudies evaluating dental assistants’ knowledge about tooth avulsion and its management are rare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge about tooth avulsion and its management among dental assistants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and to assess its relationship with their educational background.MethodsA convenience sampling methodology was employed for sample selection. Over a period of four months starting in February, 2013, 691 pretested 17-item questionnaires were distributed. A total of 498 questionnaires were returned for an overall response rate of 72.1%. Six questions were related to knowledge about permanent tooth avulsion and one question was related to knowledge about primary tooth avulsion. Correct answers to these questions were assigned one point each, and based on this scoring system, an overall knowledge score was calculated. An analysis of covariance was used to test the association between the level of knowledge (total score) and the educational qualifications of the respondents (dental degree and others). A P-value of 0.05 was considered the threshold for statistical significance.ResultsThe majority of the respondents (n = 387; 77.7%) were non-Saudis (377 were from the Philippines), and 79.1% (n = 306) of the Filipinos had a dental degree. The question about recommendations for an avulsed tooth that is dirty elicited the highest number of correct responses (n = 444; 89.2%), whereas the question about the best storage media elicited the lowest number of correct responses (n = 192; 38.6%). The overall mean score for knowledge about tooth avulsion was 6.27 ± 1.74. The mean knowledge score among the respondents with a dental degree was 6.63 ± 1.37, whereas that among the respondents with other qualifications was 5.71 ± 2.08.ConclusionsThe educational qualifications of the surveyed dental assistants were strongly correlated with the level of knowledge about tooth avulsion and its management.

The results of this study show the top preferred specialties and career choices which can be a baseline for establishing national policies and for the improvement of graduate programs. There seems to be a need to promote mentoring activities and provide guidance and encouragement to pre-doctoral dental students in selecting the most appropriate specialty within their capability domain.

3Summary: The adhesive material used to bond orthodontic brackets to teeth should neither fail during the treatment period, resulting in treatment delays, untoward expenses or patient inconvenience nor should it damage the enamel on debonding at the end of the treatment. Although the effectiveness of a bonding system and any unfavorable effects on the enamel may be studied by conducting in-vivo studies, it is nearly impossible to independently analyze different variables that influence a specific bonding system in the oral environment. In-vitro studies, on the other hand, may utilize more standardized protocols for testing different bonding systems and materials available. Thus, the present review focused attention on in-vitro studies and made an attempt to discuss material-related, teeth-related (fluorotic vs non-fluorotic teeth) and other miscellaneous factors that influences the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets. Within the limitations of this review, using conventional acid-etch technique, ceramic brackets and bonding to non-fluorotic teeth was reported to have a positive influence on the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets, but higher shear bond strength found on using ceramic brackets can be dangerous for the enamel.