Objectives:To determine the level of awareness of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among preparatory year program female students enrolling in King Saud University. Methods:The authors developed a self-administered questionnaire to estimate the level of awareness on SLE. According to their scores, respondents are classified as knowledge adequate if they could answer 11 (35.5%) of the question. Descriptive statistics were calculated in terms of mean and standard. Chi-square and T tests were used to compare different subgroups for nominal and continuous variables respectively.Results: Six hundred thirty participants completed the questionnaire. Mean age ± (SD) was 18.6 ± (1.17), 591(93.8%) were of Saudi nationality, and 607(96.3%) were single. The number of respondents in each university section was as follows: Humanity 228(36.2%), Health 201(31.9%), and Science 201(31.9%). One participant (0.02%) reported the diagnosis of SLE. Seventy-nine (12.5%) knew someone diagnosed with SLE. Two hundred fifty two (40%) have previously heard the term SLE. Of those, 73(29%) had adequate knowledge on SLE with a superior knowledge in participants who knew someone with SLE (p=0.018). In regards to the etiology of SLE, 71 (28.2%) identified it as an autoimmune disease. While 39(15.5%) thought it is infectious, 56(22.2%) attributed it to evil eye and 12(4.8%) believed it is the result of an act of sorcery or witch crafting. When asked about the preferred future source of knowledge, 476(75.6%) have chosen to obtain it directly from health care providers, while 183(29%) preferred social media. Conclusion:The awareness on SLE among university participants is low. Future educational campaigns are needed to increase awareness and rectify misconceptions.

Purpose: Dental anxiety is a barrier to dental care utilization and is associated with poor oral health outcomes. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between dental anxiety of mothers and dental caries of their children in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of mother-child pairs (N= 199) in Dammam, AlKhobar, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Dental caries experience among children was determined using dmft/DMFT indexes following the World Health Organization's guidelines. Maternal dental anxiety was assessed by using the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). Results: The mean ages of mothers and children were 33.98 ± 5.41 and 6.74 ± 2.29 years, respectively. The mean dmft score was 4.3 ± 3.99 in primary dentition and the mean maternal dental anxiety score was 13.89 ± 5.33. Ninety-two percent of mothers had low to extreme dental anxiety and only 8% reported no dental anxiety. Dental caries experience in primary teeth was higher in children of dentally anxious mothers (mean dmft 4.45 ± 3.92) than the children of mothers who were non-anxious (mean dmft 2.56 ± 4.59) (P=0.07). The mean maternal anxiety score was significantly higher in children with untreated decay in primary dentition (14.49 ± 5.08) than those with sound primary dentition (12.24 ± 5.67) (P = 0.008). The study also found a statistically significant correlation between maternal dental anxiety and untreated decay in the primary dentition (Pearson's r =0.171, P = 0.015). Conclusion: Dental anxiety was highly prevalent among mothers in the present study. There was a significant relationship between maternal dental anxiety and untreated decay in the primary dentition. Awareness should be raised among dentally anxious mothers to reduce the burden of dental caries in their children.