Background: It is necessary to understand the prevalence and pattern of distribution of dental caries for better planning and execution of preventive activities in the right dimension. This study provided the base line data about prevalence of dental caries in pre-school children of Bharakahu, Islamabad, and its association with brushing, sugar consumption and previous dental visits. Material and Methods: A total of 384 preschool children aged 3-5-year-old were screened from periurban area of Bharakahu, Islamabad, using type IV screening method. Data about decayed, missing and filled teeth was recorded using decayed-missing-filled teeth (DMFT) index. Socio-demographics, brushing, sugar consumption and previous dental visits were also recorded and analyzed and their association with dental caries was assessed using Chi square and Odds ratio. Results: The overall caries prevalence among the sample was 49%. The mean DMFT score with 1 SD was 2.07±3.215. There was no significant difference in caries prevalence in relation to gender of the children. The most significant association was for brushing and low DMFT. Children who brushed their teeth were 4 times more likely to have a low DMFT score of <1 than those who did not brush at all (P<0.001). Likewise, those who had visited a dentist in the past were twice more likely to have a low DMFT (P=0.003). The association of low sugar consumption and a low DMFT score was statistically insignificant (OR 1.4; P=0.878). Hence, brushing turned out to be the most significant factor in determining the caries experience for a child. Conclusions: This study provided us with the baseline data regarding the prevalence of caries in primary school going children of Bharakahu. The prevalence of unmet dental treatment needs was reflected through a high number of ‘decayed teeth’ as compared to missing and filled ones highlighting the need for restorative care in these children.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an oral health care workshop in enhancing the knowledge of primary school teachers Study design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Primary schools of Barakahu, from Feb to Jun 2019. Methodology: This pilot study was carried out among who attended a training workshop on oral health at various primary schools of Barakahu. Training methods included didactic lectures, demonstrations and audio-visual aids. Scores were graded pre and post workshop as poor, fair and good knowledge. Evaluation was done to assess the effectiveness of the training. Results: Out of 40 participants, 78% had good pre-training knowledge as compared to 83% after the training. As our data was not normally distributed therefore, we applied, Wilcoxon signed ranks test to check the change in the questionnaire scores (pre- and post-workshop). Among the 40 participants, 30 had a higher score post-workshop, while 7 had the same score and 3 participants had the lower score (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: The study concluded that a training workshop was an effective tool for improving the knowledge of primary school teachers regarding oral health.

Background: The worldwide COVID 19 pandemic coerced all organizations including educational facilities to embrace online teaching methodologies. The present study was done to assess the acceptance of e-learning during COVID 19 among dental students in the metropolitan city of Islamabad using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving all dental colleges of Islamabad, was conducted between August 2020 – October 2020. The complete enumeration technique was employed for sampling. A structured self-reported questionnaire of the Technology acceptance model (TAM) was used for data collection. It consisted of four constructs, perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), attitude towards use (ATT) and intention to use (INT). The questionnaire was shared online with 600 dental undergraduate students in Islamabad. To analyze the data SPSS (version 22) was used. Results: The total number of complete responses received were 274 (RR 45%).The overall mean scores for PEOU, INT, PU and ATT were 3.38, 3.21, 3.1 and 2.92 respectively. Lower mean value showed that the respondents disagreed/strongly disagreed, whereas higher mean value showed that they were inclined to agree/strongly agree with the idea of e-learning. Based on TAM model, six hypotheses were formulated and tested for significance based on the regression statistics. Larger beta and t values and P value of 0.05 using regression analysis showed existence of significant relationship between all the factors. Conclusion: The present study explored the acceptance of e-learning by dental students and concluded that in order to motivate students to use technology for educational purposes it is necessary for them to perceive technology to be useful and easy to use. This in turn would help them develop a positive attitude towards using it and consequently motivate greater participation.

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