Denture care and maintenance are necessary for both denture longevity and underlying tissue health. However, the effects of disinfectants on the strength of 3D-printed denture base resins are unclear. Herein, distilled water (DW), effervescent tablet, and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) immersion solutions were used to investigate the flexural properties and hardness of two 3D-printed resins (NextDent and FormLabs) compared with a heat-polymerized resin. The flexural strength and elastic modulus were investigated using the three-point bending test and Vickers hardness test before (baseline) immersion and 180 days after immersion. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test (α = 0.05), and further verified by using electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The flexural strength of all the materials decreased after solution immersion (p < 0.001). The effervescent tablet and NaOCl immersion reduced the flexural strength (p < 0.001), with the lowest values recorded with the NaOCl immersion. The elastic modulus did not significantly differ between the baseline and after the DW immersion (p > 0.05), but significantly decreased after the effervescent tablet and NaOCl immersion (p < 0.001). The hardness significantly decreased after immersion in all the solutions (p < 0.001). The immersion of the heat-polymerized and 3D-printed resins in the DW and disinfectant solutions decreased the flexural properties and hardness.

Objective: Many studied investigated the manifestations of COVID-19, yet few described the pattern and severity of otolaryngological symptoms. We aim to describe the picture of COVID-19-associated otorhinolaryngological manifestations and recovery to explore individualized treatment, onward referral, and complications prevention. Design: Prospective longitudinal questionnaire-based study. Setting: The online questionnaire was filled 3 times through a remote interview over a period of 1 month from June 2020 to July 2020. Participants: Patients with confirmed COVID-19 by RT-PCR who were clinically stable. Main Outcome Measures: Date of diagnosis, sociodemographic data, and the presence of predictive factors, such as nasal and paranasal disease, anosmia and dysgeusia. Validated tools were used, such as Sino-nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), smell test (medical academy screening tool), Voice Handicap Index (VHI), and Reflux Symptoms Index (RSI). Result: The questionnaire was sent to 363 patients and the response rate was 70.80% (n = 257). The mean age was 34.58 years (SD = 11.22) and the rate of male participants was 60.7%. The most common otorhinolaryngological symptoms at the time of enrollment was fever (48.6%), whilst the commonest severe symptom was cough (57%). After 1 month, only 11 participants had persistent severe symptoms, especially sleep and psychological symptoms (73%), and the majority were female (63.6%). All of them had at least 1 comorbidity. There was a significant difference between the mean age of participants with severe symptoms (mean = 27.45, SD = 8.39) and without severe symptoms (mean = 34.90, SD = 2.53, t(255) = 2.17, P = .031). Conclusion: COVID-19 has a wide-ranged spectrum of presentations, with otorhinolaryngological symptoms being the commonest and most serious. Studying these symptoms is vital to advance management options.

The study aimed to assess the prevalence of tobacco use among dental professionals and their attitudes and behaviors about tobacco cessation counseling in Saudi Arabia. A total of 359 male and female dental professionals participated in this cross-sectional study. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was administered among study participants by visiting dental hospitals and clinics in Saudi Arabia. In the study, 15.9% of the participants were current tobacco users and 50.4% had a tobacco user at home or the workplace. Most participants reported that tobacco use is associated with bad breath (88.9%), oral cancer (88.3%), dryness of the mouth (80.8%), and bad taste (79.9%). Most participants asked patients about their tobacco habits (86.6%), mentioned tobacco habits in patient records (71.3%), and explained the benefits of quitting tobacco (79.9%). Less than half the sample (47.1%) referred patients to tobacco quitting services/programs. Male gender (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.50, 95% CI 2.48–12.23, p < 0.001), having a tobacco user at home/the workplace (AOR 3.18, 95% CI 1.57–6.45, p 0.001), and believing that tobacco cessation counseling was a waste of time (AOR 2.32, 95% CI 1.13–4.76, p 0.021) were associated with significantly increased odds of tobacco use among dental professionals. The study concluded that tobacco use was common among dental professionals despite their awareness of the adverse effects of tobacco. Reduction in tobacco use and promotion of counseling skills among dental professionals should be achieved through public health measures.

Background: As a consequence of the COVID-19 global pandemic, otolaryngology residents are at high risk due to the nature of the specialty and long work hours. Moreover, COVID-19 could have a severe impact on residents from different frontline specialties, particularly otolaryngology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first nationwide survey providing insights into the otolaryngology residents' prospective of view about the impact of COVID-19 on their training competency development as well as related worries and concerns. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among all otolaryngology training centers of Saudi Arabia to investigate the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on otolaryngology residents and the learning process. Results: A total of 152 residents were contacted to participate in the study, and 101 participants were included after successfully completing the questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was 28.12 years (standard deviation = 1.89, max = 36, min = 25). There has been a significant impact on outpatient clinics, elective operations, consultations, and working hours. Further, we evaluated the impact on academic training activities, the frequency of training activities per week, and the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngology residents as well. Conclusion: COVID-19 has had a serious impact on residents both physically and mentally; otolaryngology residents have been hit, especially hard by this emergency pandemic period. Trainees suffered from excessive worries regarding clinical training, specifically academic concerns for different training levels. Further studies need to be done here in Saudi Arabia to evaluate this impact in greater detail and to protect the residents.

To assess the radiographic quality of root canal treatment (RCT) performed on single-rooted anterior teeth by undergraduate dental students of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU). Moreover, the study also aimed to assess the types of procedural errors encountered during root canal treatment and to compare the results between male and female students. MethodologyThe record of patients who visited the endodontic clinics at IAU between the years 2018 and 2021 was obtained from the medical records department. The inclusion criteria for the study involved: i) RCT performed on anterior teeth with a single root; ii) RCT performed by fourth, fifth, and sixth-year undergraduate dental students; and iii) availability of pre-operative and post-operative peri-apical radiographs. After the inclusion criteria, a total of 278 records were selected. The radiographs were accessed by two calibrated examiners for the length of the obturation, homogeneity, and taper. In addition, procedural errors such as the presence of a ledge, perforation, or fractured instruments were also observed. Analysis was done using the Chi-square test. ResultsA total of 139 teeth (50%) were found to have an adequate quality root canal treatment. Regarding the length of the obturation, 85.6% were considered acceptable, while 65.1% of the obturations had acceptable radiographic homogeneity. The acceptable taper was found in 71.9% of the obturations. Dental students who participated in this study demonstrated a low rate of procedural errors, with 4.7% ledge formation and 1% perforation. A statistically significant difference was found in the quality of root canal obturation (P = <0.001) performed by fourth, fifth, and sixth-year students. Moreover, a significant difference was also observed between maxillary and mandibular teeth (P= 0.032). ConclusionThe quality of RCT performed by undergraduate dental students demonstrated that improvements are required. The teaching methods used in the endodontic courses need to be developed and improved to ensure the best possible learning and treatment outcomes.