BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has emerged as a global pandemic recognized by the World Health Organization. It has a significant impact on Saudi Arabia’s educational process, resulting in several universities suspending on-campus teaching, exams, and training. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on dental students’ examination, internship placement, and subsequent impact on preparedness and confidence. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to gather data from dental interns in Saudi Arabia using a pre-tested online questionnaire. Convenient sampling was applied to collect data from 5th September to 15th September 2020. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive data were presented as frequency and percentages. The Chi-square test was used to evaluate the relationship between variables. RESULTS: Data of 409 dental interns from 8 dental schools reported that 209 (51%) participants’ exams were affected as the format was changed to online examination. 130 (31.8%) dental interns strongly agreed that assistance in hospitals during the outbreak of COVID-19 would complement their learning opportunities. Whereas 115(28.1%) respondents strongly agreed that dental schools’ measures to modify their curriculum were necessary. The impact of COVID-19 on dental intern preparedness discovered that the affected exams had a significant effect on final year students’ readiness to begin the internship (p = 0.042). Considering students’ confidence in starting the training earlier than expected, the student course had a statistically significant impact on their confidence (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrates that COVID-19 had disrupted dental interns’ preparedness towards clinical rotation and decreased their confidence performing in the clinical setup. Due to being unprepared and having low confidence, most dental interns were not ready to start working in the hospital before time.

The diversity of root canal anatomy in permanent dentition is quite common. Understanding the basic anatomy of the root canal morphology and its variations is particularly important for successful root canal treatment. Mandibular second premolar usually consists of a single root with a single root canal. The presence of split roots in the apical third of the root with two separate root canals is quite rare. The major cause of endodontic failure in missed canals is that it harbors bacteria and other microorganisms. Careful radiographic interpretation and clinical examination of the pulp chamber will be helpful in locating canal orifices. The mandibular premolars with Vertucci type V canal configuration pose a challenge in clinical management. Identifying them early is important to aid appropriate modification in treatment protocol. In this case report, important modifications of clinical steps and application of magnification for successful management with access chamber modification are explained.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of Aloe vera (AV) gel versus Ferric : Sulphate (FS) as a pulp medicament in vital pulpotomy of deciduous molars. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted at Peshawar Dental College, Peshawar, Pakistan. One hundred and fourteen patients were randomized into interventional group (A): who received AV gel & control group (B): who received FS as pulpotomy medicament. Deciduous molars of patients of both genders were selected for this study. Clinical signs & symptoms and radiological findings were observed in both groups after a period of 6 months and then checked for their comparative efficacy. RESULTS: Out of 114 patients, 69 (60.5%) were males. Postoperative pain was reported be as no pain [AV=44/57 (77.2%); FS=43/57 (75.4%)], mild pain [AV=07/57 (12.3%); FS=11/57 (19.3%)], moderate pain [AV=03/57 (5.3%); FS=01/57 (1.8%)] and severe pain [AV=03/57 (5.3%); FS=02/57 (3.5%)]. Periapical abscess was observed in total of 04/114 (3.5%) patients (AV=03/57; FS=01/57). Pathological tooth mobility was also present as mild/normal [AV=52/57 (91.2%); FS=56/57 (98.2%)], moderate [AV=04/57 (7%); FS=01/57 (1.8%)] and severe [AV=01/57 (1.8%)]. Radiographic changes were found in total of 06/114 (5.3%) patients (AV=04/57; FS=02/57). Out of 114 patients, 51/57 (89.47%) cases remained successful in group A while in group B, 54/57 (94.73%) were successful. CONCLUSION: AV tends to prove favorable outcomes in terms of clinical signs and symptoms and radiological features comparable to ferric sulphate and could be a better & cheap alternative to other medicaments in future and can be used safely for pulpotomy.

Objectives: This research was done to evaluate how the root canal taper affects the Endodontically Treated Teeth (ETT) prepared with the TruNatomy and Protaper Next file systems in terms of fracture resistance. Materials and Method: Forty recently extracted mandibular premolar teeth were used in this research, which was classified into four groups at random. Groups 1a and 1b used TruNatomy 4% and 6%, respectively, while groups 2a and 2b used the Protaper Next 4% and 6% file systems, respectively. The root canals were cleaned, shaped, and sealed using cold lateral compaction. The root canals were then fixed in standardized autopolymerizing acrylic resin blocks and tested for vertical root fracture using a universal testing machine. Newtons were used to measure the forces needed to cause fractures. Data were statistically analyzed. Results: In comparison with other groups, group 1a (TruNatomy 4%) displayed greater fracture resistance (423.322.43 Newtons), and group 2b (Protaper Next 6%) displayed the least fracture resistance (264.512.76 Newtons). Conclusion: Protaper Next file system had lower fracture resistance than TruNatomy file system. With the use of greater taper instruments, a notable decrease in the fracture resistance of ETT was observed.