OBJECTIVES: To determine the trends in endodontic protocols amongst practicing dentists in teaching institutions and private clinics in Lahore. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional survey was conducted amongst dentists working in the teaching institutions and in the private clinics of Lahore. A pre-piloted questionnaire survey adopted from Kohli et al with slight modifications was used. In this descriptive study 270 practicing dentists were selected using consecutive sampling with a 5% level of significance and margin of error. RESULTS: The 270 respondents had a mean age of 28.16 ± 6.18 participated in this study among which 111 (41.1%) were males and 159(58.9%) were females with the mean age of 30.28 ± 7.416 and 26.68 ± 4.62 respectively (12.2%) were consultants, 175(64.8%) were general dentists whereas 62(23%) were postgraduate residents. In our study population, 76(28.1%) dentists were using magnification among which 67(88.2%) were using loupes and 9(11.8%) were using microscope. The prevalence of the rubber dam usage for isolation among our respondents was 110(40.7%) only, 201(74.4%) dentists reported for routine removal of smear layer. Manual canal preparation technique was the most commonly used method practiced by 149(55.2%) dentists. 136(50.4%) dentists were using beveled needles for irrigation, whereas only 71(26.3%) were using side venting irrigation needles. Majority of the dentists (45.2%) were not using any method to increase the efficacy of the irrigants. CONCLUSION: There are deficiencies in the endodontic protocols followed by majority of the dentists in Lahore and these short comings should be addressed by governing bodies. KEYWORDS: Root canal therapy, Endodontic, Practice Patterns, Dentists HOW TO CITE: Lodhi Sk, Ehsan S, Rafique A, Saleem MN. Trends in endodontic protocols amongst dentists in Lahore. J Pak Dent Assoc 2020;29(4):239-245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25301/JPDA.294.239 Received: 30 July 2020, Accepted: 08 September 2020

<p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> The Coronavirus disease 2019 first appeared in the area of Wuhan, China. Dental professionals are at greater risk of getting infected by patients and certain dental procedures involving aerosol generation and proximity to the oropharyngeal region. Therefore, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is recommended to protect skin and mucosa from infected blood or saliva. American Dental Association (ADA) has published recommendations for dental treatment, yet most of the dentists are still hesitant in treating patients. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and practices of dentists in Pakistan regarding PPE during COVID-19 pandemic. <strong>Methods: </strong>Data collection was done using a well-structured web-based questionnaire (Google forms). The survey form was disseminated by sending the link via email, WhatsApp and other online forums. <strong>Results:</strong> A total of n = 1016 responses were collected. Approximately 91.6% of the participants were young dentists with years of experience 1 &ndash; 10 years. Majority of the participants 76.7% did not have easy access to PPE. A total of 60.8% claimed to be aware of the recent World Health Organizations, Centre for Disease Control and other international guidelines to screen COVID-19 patients at their clinic. Almost all the participants, 95.6%, had never undergone N95 fit-testing in their career. More than half of the participants, 64.4% were not aware of the differences between N95, N99, N100 masks. A positive trend was observed in 91.7% of the participants when asked about washing hands or uses an alcohol-based sanitizer before every patient encounter. More than three quarter (81%) of the participants was not performing aerosol producing procedures at their practices. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Majority of dentists were found to have adequate knowledge and practice scores, which is important to combat COVID-19. However there still many gaps in their knowledge and practices which need to be highlighted to ensure safe dental practice for both patients and dentists.</p>

Background. In the current era, Twitter is an increasingly popular tool for the dissemination of information as a social media voice. Social media is a valid, but underutilized, education tool at medical education institutions. Social media technologies provide opportunities for the presentation of information in alternative and multiple formats to enhance engagement, content creation, and motivation for individual and collaborative learning. Objective. This study examined the type of social structure and sub-clusters do exist regarding “MedEd” on the Twitter network. Additionally, it determined the top opinion leaders in these networks and which type of topics generates users’ interest regarding “MedEd”. Methods. This study applied NodeXL to analyze the results and retrieved Twitter data on November 1, 2022 by using the keywords “MedEd”. The data were saved and interpreted in the “vertices” and “edges” on the NodeXL worksheets. Results. We found that the top opinion leader (vertex) “Cryptovitas” had the highest in- betweenness and out-degree centrality. “Innov_medicine” had the in-degree centrality for networks. “In-Degree” and “Out-Degree” are the count of Tweets an opinion leader gets and forwards messages out, correspondingly. The study found that although “Cryptovitas” had the highest in-betweenness centrality, “taylorswift13” had the maximum number of followers (91,523,045) with in-betweenness centrality of 0.0. This indicates that the vertex having maximum influence with the largest number of in-betweenness centrality has not linked with several followers. Conclusions. Using Twitter embodies a potential prospect to engage the medical education community. The content of top networks’ tweets was around the number of “MedEd” innovations with the potential to significantly improve medical education delivery and innovative technologies in healthcare services. There is no link between the number of followers and in-betweenness centrality to influence the strength of social media voice. Although clinical and social tweets were there, not much was discussed regarding the curriculum reforms, continued professional development, technical issues in MedEd, and assessments. This triggers the insistence for rapid and innovative adaptations to the new learning environments and remarkable revolutions in medical education, including the encouragement of evidence-based education. The Twitter discussions promoted a research network circulating a wide range of informative innovations and collaborations.

Background and Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 is the latest infectious disease to rapidly spread worldwide. The role of dental professionals in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 is critically important while providing routine dental care. The objective of this study was to assess the attitude and perception of dentists to provide treatment to patients and form a general consensus for future dental protocols.Methods: Data collection was done using a well-structured web-based questionnaire (Google forms). The survey form was distributed by sending the link via email, WhatsApp and other online forums. Data were collected from n = 299 participants and analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Frequencies and percentages were determined for qualitative variables whereas mean  standard deviation was calculated for quantitative variables.Results: A total of n = 299 responses were collected. Approximately 90.6% of the respondents were young clinicians with years of experience 1 -9 years. Most of the respondents i.e. 70.9% were more inclined towards performing only non-aerosol generating procedures. Ninety five percent agreed upon training of dentists and dental chair side assistants regarding donning and doffing of PPEs and 91% preferred to go for high volume suction for aerosol generating procedures. Ninety four percent of the respondents strongly recommended to check for every patient reporting to dental clinic. Conclusion:Majority of the dentists are well aware of the current crisis, but trends of ambiguities have been seen regarding adaptation of particular protocol for the dental treatment. Intervention from Government is required to establish proper dental guidelines including provision of PPEs so that treatment could be provided with the best of facilities to the poor patients as well.

Background: Odontogenic infections are one of the main causes of patients visit to a dental office. Antibiotics are magical drugs that have revolutionized the 20th Century in their ability to treat infectious diseases, increasing the life expectancy of individuals. Antibiotics prescription is a common practice among dental professionals and according to an estimate by Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA), over prescription of antibiotics is seen in 30-50% of the cases. Aim: To assess and compare (no comparison) the antibiotic prescription pattern among general dentists and specialty dentists in Lahore, Pakistan. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted amongst dentists working in the teaching institutions and in the private clinics of Lahore. A pre-piloted questionnaire survey adopted from Jagan et al with slight modifications was used. In this descriptive study 300 practicing dentists were selected using consecutive sampling with a 5% level of significance and margin of error Results: Total 300 filled questionnaires were collected. Almost 84% of the dentists were less than 30 years old while 13% were between 31-40 years old. Of the participants 65.3% were females and 34.7 percent were males. Dental infections associated with gross swelling or associated with closure of the eye were the most common reasons for prescription of antibiotics. Almost 62% of the dentists would give antibiotic if any delay in treatment is anticipated. Almost 50% of the dentists would prescribe antibiotics for periapical abscess and cellulitis. Conclusion: There is a trend towards over prescription of antibiotics by dentists without following the standard guidelines. Emphasis on the correct prescription strategies of antibiotics at the undergraduate level and more awareness should be created as continuing dental education programs for practicing dentists. Keywords: Antibiotics, Dentists, Prescription Pattern.