Background: Fissured tongue is a common manifestation of the tongue, marked by the presence of multiple prominent grooves or fissures on the dorsal surface of the tongue. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue among patients attending an outpatient clinic in Afghanistan. Aim: The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue and its effects on the general health of adult outpatients in Afghanistan. Patients and Methods:The cross-sectional survey was conducted among outpatient populations in Andkhoy City, Afghanistan, between September 2019 and December 2019. A convenience technique was applied by including 1182 patient aged 18-80 years. Socio-economic status, smoking, nass use (smokeless tobacco use) and medical data were collected using face-toface interviews. We used logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with fissured tongue. A convenience technique was applied by including patient aged 18-80 years. Results: The studied population consisted of 1182 participants, of whom 573 (48.5%) were males and 609 (51.5%) females. The prevalence of fissured tongue was 27.2% (95% CI: 24.7-29.9%) with males having significantly higher prevalence than females (47.5%, 95% CI: 43.3-51.6% versus 8.2%, 95% CI: 6.2-10.7%, p<0.001). Male participants (OR=7.1, 95% CI: 4.8-10.3), diabetes mellitus (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3) and smokeless tobacco use (OR=12.0, 95% CI: 8.1-17.6) were the only variables independently associated with fissured tongue. Conclusion:This study suggested that there was a high rate of fissured tongue among an outpatient clinic in Andkhoy, Afghanistan. Male gender, diabetes mellitus, and nass consumption were associated with fissured tongue. Therefore, these factors might usefully be targeted in local health promotion, prevention and early intervention programs.

Background. With the increasing demand for aesthetics in children and their parents, the treatment of decayed primary anterior teeth is one of the biggest challenges in pediatric dentistry. Zirconia crowns have provided a treatment alternative to address the aesthetic concerns and ease of placement of extracoronal restorations on primary anterior teeth. Methods. The electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Embase were searched on articles published between January 2010 and January 2021. Studies relating to evaluating the clinical success and satisfaction of both parents and children about zirconia crowns in maxillary primary incisors were reviewed. Results. Nine studies met the criteria for final inclusion. Findings from these studies showed that parental and child satisfaction with zirconia crowns is high with clinically acceptable restorations in the maxillary primary incisors. Conclusion. Parental and child satisfaction with zirconia crowns is high with clinically acceptable restorations in the maxillary primary incisors. In addition, larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are required in future studies.

Children with high intelligence quotient (IQ) are more capable of managing adverse situations. These children may show more cooperation to receive dental treatments. This study assessed the effect of intelligence quotient (IQ) of 5-10-year-old children on their cooperation during dental treatments. Eighty children without previous dental history and in need of pulpotomy and stainless steel crowns in one tooth were selected. A written consent was obtained from the parents, and after the children’s IQ was measured by Raven intelligence test, the treatments were performed and their cooperation level was determined using Frankl’s behavior rating scale with rating 1 to rating 4 (definitely negative, negative, positive, and definitely positive). In this cross-sectional study, the relationship between IQ and cooperation level was analyzed by one-way ANOVA test while the effect of age and gender on IQ and cooperation level was studied by ordinal regression test. Out of the total samples, 5% had definitely negative, 16.2% had negative, 56.3% had positive, and 22.5% had definitely positive level of cooperation according to Frankl criteria. There was a significant and positive correlation between IQ and level of cooperation ( r = 0.87 , p < 0.001 ). According to the results of the linear regression analysis, to examine the effect of age, sex, and IQ variables on cooperation, children’s age ( p value = 0.003) had a positive effect on their cooperation, but gender had no effect on predicting IQ and cooperation level ( p value = 0.557). Regarding significant relationship between IQ scores and cooperation level, dentists can predict cooperation in pediatric patients to deliver better treatments and increase patients’ satisfaction.

Background: Fissured tongue is a common manifestation of the tongue, marked by the presence of multiple prominent grooves or fissures on the dorsal surface of the tongue. However, there is a lack of studies focusing on the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue among patients attending an outpatient clinic living in regional areas of Afghanistan. Aims: The purpose of the current study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with fissured tongue among adult outpatients in Afghanistan in regional areas of Afghanistan. Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted among outpatient populations in Andkhoy, Afghanistan, between September 2019 and December 2019. Socio-economic status, smoking, nass use (smokeless tobacco use) and medical data were also assessed. We used the logistic regression models to identify factors associated with fissured tongue. Results: The studied population consisted of 1182 participants, of whom 573 (48.5%) were male and 609 (51.5%) female. The prevalence of fissured tongue was 27.2% (95% CI: 24.7-29.9%) with male having significantly higher prevalence than female (47.5%, 95% CI: 43.3-51.6% versus 8.2%, 95% CI: 6.2-10.7%, p<0.001). Male participants (OR=7.1, 95% CI: 4.8-10.3), Diabetes mellitus (OR 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.3) and smokeless tobacco use (OR, 12.0 95% CI: 8.1-17.6) were the only variables independently associated with fissured tongue. Conclusions: This study suggested that there was a high rate of fissured tongue among an outpatient clinic in Andkhoy, Afghanistan. Male gender, diabetes mellitus, and nass consumption were associated with fissured tongue. Therefore, these factors might usefully be targeted in local health promotion, prevention and early intervention programs.

Introduction. Although primary teeth have a determinative role in development of normal occlusion, few studies about anomalies related to deciduous dentition have been conducted so far. Regarding recent improvements in common knowledge and the importance of maintaining primary teeth until eruption of succedaneous teeth, identifying the morphology of primary teeth and probable variations is of great importance to achieve optimal therapeutic outcome. This study aims to determine the prevalence of three-rooted mandibular primary molars in a population of northwestern Iran. Materials and Methods. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, periapical radiographs of patients attending private oral and maxillofacial radiology offices in the northwestern region of Iran from 2017 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 300 cases in the 3– 10 -year age range having bilateral periapical radiographs from mandibular primary molars were screened. First and second primary molars were observed meticulously. Gender, side of the mandible (right or left), symmetry, overall prevalence, and prevalence considering the type of molar (D or E) were recorded and analyzed. Results. Overall prevalence of three-rooted mandibular primary molars was 9.33 % (   28 / 300 ), 92.9 % of which were unilateral. The prevalence of teeth showing supernumerary roots among all teeth examined was 2.5 % ( 30 / 1200 ). Considering symmetry and gender, the occurrence of these three-rooted primary molars did not differ significantly (respectively, p = 0.832 and p = 0.541 ). However, there was a significant relationship between the occurrence of supernumerary roots and left side for three-rooted first molars and right side for three-rooted second molars ( p = 0.021 ). Conclusion. Obtained data show that three-rooted mandibular primary molars in children of northwest region of Iran have a prevalence of approximately 10   % which urges some specific considerations in exodontic and endodontic procedures.