Aim: This study aimed to investigate an association between dental caries status and anthropometric measures in primary school children. Methods and Materials: An analytical cross-sectional study (n = 376) was conducted among primary school children (age range = 6–9 years) registered in private schools. Non-clinical data was gathered from parents of participating children through a self-administered structured questionnaire as well as from the children through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Clinical data included the examination of dental caries using dmft/DMFT index and anthropometric measures including calculated z-scores of height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), BMI-for-age (BAZ), and physical examination. Inferential statistics included Kruskal Wallis and linear regression for univariate and multivariate analysis respectively. Results: The proportion of dental caries in primary and secondary dentition was 67.6% and 8.2% respectively. A significant association was observed between dental caries status and HAZ, WAZ, and BAZ (p < 0.001). An inverse relation was found between low, medium, and high dental caries categories and anthropometric measures. Conclusions: In the primary dentition, dental caries were significantly and inversely related to weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age. Hence, it can be concluded that among the low-income population dental caries is associated with lower anthropometric outcomes in children and therefore caries management should be considered an approach impacting overall health and quality of life.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a novel coronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan and very quickly became a challenging public health problem. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization termed this potentially deadly disease a pandemic due to its rapid spread in various parts of the world, giving rise to international health emergencies. This virus is transmitted from human to human in the form of respiratory droplets, and in specific circumstances, airborne transmission may occur. Additional sources of exposure for dentists include blood and infected sharps. Due to the contagious nature of COVID-19 many health care providers have also been disproportionately affected, such as physicians, dentists, nurses, and paramedical staff. Dentists and dental staff are at high risk of cross-infection due to their nature of work. Therefore, they face a dual challenge in protecting themselves and their patients from infection transmission while ensuring that patients receive urgent dental care. In this review, the authors highlight the epidemiology, modes of cross-infection, and recent data on SARS-CoV-2 related to dental practice. The primary purpose is to make dental health care providers aware of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and to increase their preparedness and understanding of this challenge, which will aid in controlling transmission. The information collected will be useful for the dental community in providing effective patient management through evidence-based recommendations for infection control and disinfection protocols.

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BACKGROUND: Dental practitioners can be prone to stress because of the long working hours, high patient expectations, and work environment. OBJECTIVE: To investigate dimensions of occupational stress among dental practitioners leading to burnout and to model its causality with job satisfaction. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted for five months. A sample of 302 practicing dental practitioners was selected using the consecutive sample technique. This sample included dental practitioners working in clinical and non-clinical departments of public and private sector universities as well as those doing private general practice. A self-administered structured questionnaire based on the Work Stress Questionnaire was sent using Survey Monkey. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Spearman correlation was applied between stress scores and job satisfaction. A Chi-square test was applied to look into the association between stress levels and different categories. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed. RESULT: The prevalence of overall occupational stress was high among dental practitioners (83.4%). Occupational stress was greatest in females (55.8%), dental practitioners in the private sector (55.7%), and general dental practitioners (GDPs) (47%). The overall prevalence of job satisfaction among dental professionals was 30% . Occupational stress was significantly associated with burnout and job dissatisfaction in dentistry. Stress levels and working hours were statistically and positively associated, whereas the association between stress levels and job satisfaction was inversely and significantly associated. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of occupational stress among dental practitioners was high and the level of job satisfaction was moderate. The model between these variables was well-fitted.

BACKGROUND: In dental settings, COVID-19 can be transmitted directly from patients to dentists through small droplets, saliva splashes, blood, and other body fluids liberated as a result of dental procedures. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of ocular and facial injuries in dental professionals and to investigate factors in dental practice contributing to ocular injuries. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study was performed in public and private sector universities. The study had 301 participants including final year undergraduate students, interns, postgraduate trainees, general practitioners, and dental specialists. Data were gathered online using Google forms. Information on sociodemographic, practice details, history of ocular and facial encounters during the clinical experience, and protective measures adopted by the dentists were collected. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables whereas frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. A Chi-square test was applied for association between variables. RESULTS: Ocular events and facial injuries occurred more in females 204 (67.8%) than in males 97(32.2%). Final year students reported more incidence of ocular encounters than specialists (40.9%, 3.3%). Dentists working in the government sector underwent more ocular encounters than those in private sectors 185(61.4%) and 96 (31.8%). Majority of participants reported that scaling was the procedure in which dentists experienced an ocular event. A significant association was found between ocular events, qualification, years of experience in clinical practice, number of patients treated per day, improper posture, and proper armamentarium (p <  0.05). However, no association was found between ocular events, gender, working sector, and dental procedures. CONCLUSION: Occurrence of ocular injuries were high compared to facial injuries and these outcomes were dependent on dental expertise and experiences. Appropriate measures should be adopted to minimize the risk of disease transmission and COVID-19 through the eyes among practicing dentists.