AimsThe aims of this study were to evaluate the applicability of Demirjian’s method for dental age assessment in a group of Egyptian children in Minia city and to develop an age predictive equation suitable for the studied group.Subjects and methodsIn this retrospective, blind, cross-sectional study, 160 dental panoramic radiographs (DPTs) were selected from 420 DPTs from healthy children aged between three and 10 years old from the archived medical files of patients attending Minia University Dental Hospital (MUDH) and evaluated to estimate dental ages.ResultsAge was overestimated for almost all of the studied subjects with an accuracy range from 0.18 to 1.19 years for males and from 0.08 to 0.87 years for females, with the exception of two age subgroups (9–10-year-old males and 10–11-year-old females, for which the mean difference values were −0.06 and −0.008 years, respectively). A Logistic regression was used to generate a suggested formula for dental age estimation.ConclusionsDemirjian’s method may be unsuitable for Egyptian children living in Minia city. Development of a predication equation and the introduction of adaptable conversion tables to transform the maturity score into a dental age for Egyptian children may be suitable alternatives. The validity of the newly developed prediction equation must be tested among all Egyptian children.

Ergonomics is the scientific study of people and their working environment. Dentistry is a profession that produces different types of musculoskeletal disorders. If ergonomic principles are applied in dentistry field, it helps to prevent occupational health hazards and provides more comfort to the dentist and patient. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of group dentists in Upper Egypt regarding to dental ergonomics. Subjects and methods: a total of 430 dentists were included in the current study after sample size calculation, the equation considering the knowledge of dentists about dental ergonomics, confidence level, and margins of error; then, an additional number of dentists were added to guard against nonresponse. They were randomly selected from four governorates in Upper Egypt (Bani Sweif Minia, Assuit, and Sohag). Data were collected by face-to-face interview using prevalidated questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 24 items divided into five sections; first part demonstrates sociodemographic. The second part concerned with the knowledge about dental ergonomics (10 multiple-choice questions). The third part consists of 4 questions to determine attitude of participants, The fourth part consists 5 questions focused on the practice of dentists regarding dental ergonomics and finally, the last part assess musculoskeletal disorders and treatments received of participants (5 questions).Chi-square test was used to compare between the two or more proportions. A correlation was used for describing the relationship or association between two mutually numerical dependent variables and significant level was set at p < 0.05. Results: revealed high response rate among participant (93%). The overall knowledge level in the current study was 11.8% had good knowledge, more than half had positive attitude towards dental ergonomic and only 8.0% had good practice. Conclusion: Dentists in Upper Egypt have problems in their knowledge and practice of dental ergonomics. However, Most of the respondents were interested in improving their knowledge and practice levels through continuing education.

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