Objective: To assess the level of job satisfaction among the dental workforce in the National Guard Health Affairs (NGHA) in Saudi Arabia and to explore any predictors that have impact on the level of satisfaction. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study targeted dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, and dental lab technicians who are workers for the NGHA. A cluster random sampling procedure was conducted from seven dental centers. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire that was previously published. Satisfaction questions were related to (a) professional and personal life, (b) income and job security, (c) quality of service, and (d) prestige and self-perception domains. Data analysis included frequency distributions, and a comparison of mean using t -test was conducted using SPSS software. Results: The response rate was 55.5%. The mean satisfaction score was 65.7 out of 112 (2.9 out of 5). Of the four domains pertaining to job satisfactions, the highest mean score was obtained for quality of service (4.2 out of 5), followed by prestige and self-perception (2.8 out of 5), professional and personal life (2.8 out of 5), and income and job security (2.6 out of 5). Non-Saudis were found to be significantly more satisfied in professional and personal life; however, Saudi dentists were more satisfied for income and job security and quality of services. Conclusions: In general, the dental workforce practicing in NGHA experience a low level of job satisfaction. Professional and personal life, income and job security, and quality of services are all important factors affecting the level of job satisfaction.

Objective: To assess the dental practitioners' use of social media, concerning demographic and social variables and the impact of social media use on dental practice. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional analytical study of dental practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered 30-items questionnaire was distributed to 438 dentists, which included eight questions related to background and demographic information and 22 questions related to the use of social media within the dental practice. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS software. Data analysis included frequency distributions and chi-square tests to assess the association of social media use with demographic and social variables and its impact on dental practice. Significant level was considered if p was less than 0.05. Results: Of participating, 338 dentists, 52% were using social media in their practice. Twitter was the most commonly used (35%). Education was the primary purpose of using social media (43%), while entertainment was the least (8%). Approximately 62% and 68% are using social media for marketing of their dental practice and broadcasting treatment outcome, respectively. Social media was observed to be used significantly higher among Non-Saudi, general and private dentists. Participating dentists who used social media in their practice significantly recommended using social media to other dentists. Conclusion: In general, non-Saudis, general practitioners and dentists practicing in private clinics are significantly using more social media during their practice. The majority of dental practitioners indicated that social media has improved their dental practice and become an indicator of successful practice.

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Objective: The purpose of this laboratory-based study was to compare the shaping forces and torques developed by the XP Shaper (FKG Dentaire SA, La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland) and OneCurve (Micro-Mega, Besancon, France) systems during shaping of narrow canals. Methods: Mandibular premolars with a single canal were divided equally into two groups; XP Shaper and OneCurve (n=16 each). In both groups, the canals were shaped with XP Shaper file (30/01) or OneCurve file (25/O6) that was inserted three times until it reached the canal length. The tooth was surrounded by water under controlled simulated intracanal temperature throughout the experiment. The inward and outward peak forces and the peak torques were recorded and analyzed statistically using the Mann-Whitney test. The shaping times were analyzed using Student’s t-test. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: In both groups, the developed forces in both directions and the torques increased with the successive insertions of the file. In the two groups, the inward peak forces ranged from 0.33 to 3.12 N, while the outward peak forces ranged from 0.09 to 1.96 N. In the three insertions, the XP Shaper showed significantly lower peak forces in both directions. The peak torque developed in both groups ranged from 0.12 to 1.52 N.cm. XP Shaper had significantly lower torque values in all the insertions than OneCurve. The XP Shaper system was able to completely shape the canals in 33.4 seconds while the OneCurve system was able to completely shape the canals in 32.8 seconds. Conclusion: The XP Shaper system showed favorably lower force and torque values during canal shaping compared with the OneCurve system.

Background The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the magnitude of shaping forces and dynamic torques developed with XP shaper (XPS) and OneCurve (OC) systems during canal shaping of extracted teeth.Methods Thirty-two single-canalled mandibular premolars were divided into two groups: XPS and OC (n=16 each). In XPS and OC, the canals were shaped with their dedicated file inserted three times until it reached the canal length. The experiment was performed while the test sample was surrounded by water under controlled simulated intracanal temperature. The real-time shaping forces and torques induced during canal shaping were observed. The inward and outward peak shaping forces and the peak torques were recorded and used for statistical analysis by using the Mann-Whitney test. The statistical significance was set at 5%.Results In both groups, the developed shaping forces in both directions and the torques increased with the successive file insertions. The inward and outward peak forces of the XPS and OC groups ranged from 0.33 to 3.12 N and from 0.09 to 1.96 N, respectively. The peak torque developed in both groups ranged from 0.12 to 1.52 N.cm. In the three insertions, the XPS showed significantly lower peak forces in both directions (P=0.00). For the peak torque, XPS had significantly lower values in all the insertions (P=0.00).Conclusions The XPS system had significantly lower shaping forces and lower dynamic torque values during canal shaping compared with the OC system.