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Introduction dental procedures produce bio-aerosols that can carry the highly contagious COVID-19 virus. Hence, the entire dental care team has to follow the current COVID-19 related infection control protocols. The study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with infection control methods during dental procedures among dental practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Methods the online questionnaire consisted of four sections namely, demographic details, eight questions on knowledge, four questions on attitude and eight questions on the practice of dentists during COVID-19 pandemic. One point was attributed for a correct response and zero point for an incorrect response. The study used descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models in Jamovi 1.8.1 to establish relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practices among dental professionals and their demographic characteristics. Results among 384 dentists, 294 (76.6%) were aware of the hand hygiene methods, 372 dentists (96.9%) were aware of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 343 dentists (89.3%) recorded the body temperature of the patients. One hundred and thirty eight (138) dentists (35.9%) did not use rubber dam and 158 dentists (41.1%) were not aware of the four-handed dentistry. Among the study participants, 57.8% displayed adequate knowledge, 63.8% possessed good attitude and 93.5% followed good practices on COVID-19 appropriate infection control measures during dental procedures. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were found to be 6.61, 2.04, and 3.38 respectively. Based on multivariable binary logistic regression analysis, it is observed that males (aOR: 0.55, 95% CI 0.35-0.87; p=0.011) have a lower likelihood of having a good knowledge when compared with females after adjusting for the other independent variables in the model. Also, individuals with higher qualifications (aOR: 0.57, 95% CI 0.36-0.92; p=0.022) appear to have lower likelihood of having good knowledge on COVID-19 infection control methods during dental procedure. Conclusion the study concludes that participants possess sound knowledge, attitude and practice on hand hygiene, PPE, patient triage and waiting area modifications at the workplace. However, poor response was noted on the use of rubber dam, remote telephonic screening and four-handed dentistry practice.

Purpose The prime factor in determining the success of reimplantation of an avulsed tooth is the maintenance of the viability of periodontal ligament fibroblast cells (PDFC). This study aims to evaluate and compare Mc Carey Kaufman media (MK), Cornisol, Dulbecco’s Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM), Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) and distilled water in preserving the viability of the PDFC using the Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK-8). Methods Cryopreserved PDFC were suspended in DMEM and incubated in CO 2 incubator at 370C with 95% humidity and 5% CO 2 for attachment. Once cells attained 80% confluence, they were trypsinised and passed into T-25 culture flasks to expand the culture population. Cells from passage 5 were pooled for experimentation. Trypan blue exclusion test was performed before each experiment to measure cell viability and batches showing more than 95% viability were used in the experiment. The viable PDFC with 1×105 were seeded in 96 well plates and incubated in CO 2 incubator at 370C, 95% humidity and 5% CO 2 for 24 hours to allow cell attachment. A 100µL of the experimental media were added in the wells and the cells were exposed for 1, 24 and 48 hours respectively. The viability was determined using the CCK-8. Experiment was performed in triplicates and data was subjected to statistical analysis. Results Statistical analysis was performed using repeated measure ANOVA, ANOVA, and post-hoc Bonferroni test with the significance level p<0.05. The values are as follows: MK (1.3146 ±0.0588, 1.9012±0.0511, 2.0723±0.1211) > Cornisol (1.2399±0.0548, 1.9596±0.0652, 1.9592±0.1361) >DMEM (1.1914±0.0691, 1.8479±0.0116, 2.0718±0.0795) > HBSS (0.3665±0.0814, 0.0184±0.0010, 0.0248±0.0042) >distilled water (0.0122±0.0033, 0.0225±0.0085, 0.0104±0.0008) at 1 hour, 24 hours and 48 hours respectively. MK >Cornisol>DMEM>HBSS>distilled water. Conclusion It can be concluded that the corneal preservation solutions showed promising results in preserving periodontal ligament cell viability for extended time periods.

Background: To compare the surface roughness and microhardness of Ceram.x® SphereTEC™ one and Filtek Z350 XT after in-office vital bleaching with Pola office. Methods: A total of 20 samples of 10 mm diameter and 2 mm height of Ceram.x® SphereTEC™ one and Filtek Z350 XT were prepared. The samples were subjected to two bleaching sessions with 35% hydrogen peroxide (Pola office) with a seven-day interval between each session. Surface roughness and microhardness of the prepared samples prior to and after the bleaching regimen were measured using a profilometer and Vickers hardness tester, respectively. Results: A significant reduction (p <0.001) in the surface hardness of Filtek Z350 XT from 26.67 ± 2.10 to 17.83 ± 1.36 Vickers hardness number (VHN) was observed after the bleaching whereas no significant reduction in surface hardness was observed with Ceram.x® SphereTEC™ one. However, in-office bleaching of these materials did not significantly alter their surface roughness. Conclusions: The effect of in-office bleaching on the surface hardness of resin composites seem to vary due to variations in the composition of dental composites such as filler loading. Among the composites tested, in office bleaching of Ceram.x® SphereTEC™ did not result in significant changes in its surface hardness and roughness.

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