OBJECTIVE: To assess the financial impact of COVID-19 on employers of private dental practices of Pakistan in the month of April and May 2020. METHODOLOGY: In this cross sectional study, the employers of dental practices of Pakistan were inquired about their financial management during COVID 19 outbreak. The data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS version 23.0. Percentages and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis at p <0.05. RESULTS: 52.7% owners opened their practices whereas 37.8% of tenants’ clinics remained closed (p<0.01). 38.3% of tenant employers provided inadequate PPE whereas 53.2% owners provided adequate PPE to their staff (p=0.02). 64% of owners easily arranged PPE for staff whereas 70.4% tenants found it difficult to arrange PPE because of its high cost. Employers with less than 10 years of practice reported less than 5% whereas those with more than 10 years of practice reported up to 24% of revenue generation income (p<0.01). Most of the employers paid full salary to their employees. If this condition persists till the end of August, 40.8% employers (<10 years practice) planned to adjust staff salaries whereas 33% employers (>10 years of practice) planned to find innovative ways to lower their operating costs (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Due to minimal patient turnover, dental employers are facing incredible challenges in managing the expenses. Those with more than 10 years of practice are more economically stable as compared to the employers with less than 10 years of practice. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, finances, dental clinic, Pakistan. HOW TO CITE: Sarwar H, Qureshi NR, Fatima S, Naeem MM, Inayat A. A nation-wide survey on financial impact of COVID-19 on employers of private dental practices of Pakistan. J Pak Dent Assoc 2020;29(4):172-178.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of intracanal cryotherapy on surface temperature change in the root apex with different thickness. Study Design: Comparative Study. Place and Duration of Study: Operative Dentistry Department: Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, Pakistan: July 2020 till June 2021. Materials & Methods: Sixty extracted single-rooted teeth were randomly divided into two groups: 30 each with one group consisting of teeth with ≤3 mm root thickness and another group consisting of teeth with thickness >3mm. Both groups were equally subdivided into Group A and Group B. After endodontic preparation of teeth, Group A underwent room temperature saline irrigation and Group B cold temperature saline (2.5°C) irrigation. A digital thermometer was used to measure the external root surface temperature by placing the thermocouple at 2 mm from the apex of the root’s buccal surface. Results: Initial and final temperatures were compared using paired t-test. Independent t-test was applied to compare the final temperature between ≤3mm and >3mm thickness groups. P-value less than or equal to 5% level of significance was defined as statistically significant. In group A, An average temperature decrease of 4.4 ± 0.5°C was observed in the final temperature when thickness was ≤3mm (p=0.040) while a reduction of 2.6 ± 0.5°C was seen in the final temperature when thickness was >3mm (p=0.008). When thickness was ≤3 mm, final temperature among group A and Group B was significantly different with higher mean final temperature in Group A (p<0.001). At thickness >3mm, final temperature between Group A and Group B was different with significantly lower final temperature in Group B than Group A(p<0.001). Conclusion: The external root surface temperature reduction was found to be inversely related to the external root thickness. Thin roots showed greater temperature reduction compared to thick roots.

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