Background: Occupational hazards and risks are a common public health issue, especially when healthcare workers safety is concerned; they are on high risk of catching infections such like COVID-19. The possibility of cross-infection between dental practitioners and patients is significantly higher due to the close exposure of dental staff to patient oral environment. Aim: To assess the prevalence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies in dental workers working in the Peshawar Dental College and Hospital, Peshawar. Study Design: Cross sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Orthodontics, Peshawar Dental College & Hospital, Peshawar from 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020. Methodology: One hundred and thirty three dental workers were enrolled. The investigation was run to detect immunoglobulin G and M antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2-2. The aspirated aerosol and air was evacuated and dissipated into the atmosphere. Results: Mean age was 29.4±1.4 years and males were dominant 74 (55.6%) and male workers found greater with positive antibodies. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 33.0%. Proportionately dental assistants (20.5% vs 16.9%) and ancillary staff (20.5% vs 10.1%) had higher prevalence. Sore throat and body aches were more common in positive antibodies cases while travel history was found significantly associated with it (40.9% vs 25.0%, p-value, 0.05). Conclusion: High frequency of SARS-COV-2 antibodies was found in dental workers showing a high infection rate of COVID-19 in healthcare workers in local settings. Keywords: Dental workers, COVID-19 infection, Antibodies, SARS-COV-2

OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of emergencies in patients with fixed and removable orthodontic appliances at tertiary care dental hospital. METHODOLOGY: A questionnaire was designed for this descriptive cross-sectional study to be filled by the clinician (L3/L4 FCPS resident) at the end of addressing every orthodontic emergency. Sampling was done under consecutive non-probability protocols. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine the frequency of different orthodontic emergencies, and Pearson’s chi-square test was applied to determine association of emergencies with gender and etiology of emergency (patient related vs operator related). Data was analyzed on SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of 175 patients reported with orthodontic emergencies. The sample comprised 38.3% males and 61.7% females. Most frequent orthodontic emergency reported was deboned brackets in fixed appliances, while the most common emergency in removable appliances was traumatic PNAM. A statistically significant association (Pearson’s Chi Square=4.74, Cramer’s V=0.165, p=0.029) was seen for removable and fixed appliance emergencies with males and females. CONCLUSION: Most frequent fixed appliance orthodontic emergencies were deboned brackets while for removable appliance emergencies were trauma due to PNAM. Emergencies with removable appliances were mostly due to the operator related factors, while in fixed appliances patient related factors were dominating.

OBJECTIVES To determine the correlation between skeletal and dental maturity using the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) index (CVMI) and Demirjian index (DI) in orthodontic patients. METHODOLOGY Panoramic and lateral cephalogram radiographs of 105 patients pretreatment records were retrieved. Tooth calcification stages for mandibular left molar were recorded using Demirjian Index on the panoramic radiograph. The skeletal maturation stages were evaluated on a lateral cephalogram through CVMI staging. Fisher’s exact test and Cramer’s V values were estimated to determine the correlation between DI and CVMI. Weighted kappa statistics were used to determine the reproducibility of inter-observer assessment of DI and CVMI. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. RESULTS A statistically significant correlation is present among the various stages of DI and CVMI for the males (Fisher exact = 25.006, Cramer’s V = 0.848, p = < 0.001) and females (Fisher exact = 41.006, Cramer’s V = 0.623, p = <0.001). A comparison of DI with respect to CVMI shows a more advanced skeletal stage in males than for female subjects. CONCLUSION The correlation between CVMI and DI stages was found to be highly significant. Stage D and F of DI were significantly correlated with stage 3 and stage 4 of CVMI in females and males respectively.

Aim: To determine the frequency of different types of cleft lip and palate and to investigate the possible relation of some risk factors to cleft lip and palate. Study design: Descriptive study. Place and duration of study: Peshawar Dental College, Peshawar Pakistan from 1st August 2017 to 31st January 2019. Methodology: One hundred and seven patients with congenital cleft lip and cleft palate deformities, either gender and age ranged from 1 day to 720 days were enrolled. Cleft types were categorized as bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), left cleft lip and palate (LCLP), right cleft lip and palate (RCLP), cleft alveolus (CLA) and bilateral incomplete cleft (BICLP). Results: There were 73(68.2%) males and 34(31.8%) females. The highest number of patients from Peshawar 30(28%) followed by Swat 21(19.8%) and Charssada by 11(10.3%). Forty two (39.3%) patients’ parents had consanguineous marriages. There were 89(83.2%) of mother haven't used folic acid during their pregnancy. Forty 40(37.4%) cases had a positive family history of cleft deformities. Most common systemic disease was anemia 25(23.2). Eighty five (79.4%) of cleft lip and palate patients were belonging to poor class family. Conclusion: The households of cleft lip and palate children demonstrated low socioeconomic status. The incidence of cleft lip and palate should be reduced to enhance the conditions of women during pregnancy by maintaining a balanced diet and giving them folic acid. Keywords: Epidemiology, Children, Cleft lip, Palate, Risk factors