Many of the Turkish patients surveyed in the study were dissatisfied and desired the improvement of dental esthetics. Therefore, dentists should consider this as an important dimension in their practice.

No abstract

Recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) is an inflammatory condition of the oral mucosa characterized by painful, well-circumscribed, single or multiple round or ovoid ulcerations. The exact etiologic factor(s) of these ulcerations are not yet understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate inflammatory processes and free radical metabolism of 25 patients with RAUs compared to 25 healthy controls. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-10, and IL-12 were determined by ELISA. Nitric oxide (NO), myeloperoxidase (MPO), total antioxidant status (TAS), and total oxidant status (TOS) levels were measured spectroscopically in serum. The levels of MDA, GSH, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-12, MPO, and TOS, and oxidative stress index (OSI) were higher, and the levels of NO, IL-10, and TAS were lower in patients with RAU than in controls. Statistical analysis showed that GSH, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-10, and OSI differed significantly in patients with RAU compared to controls. These parameters have important roles in oxidant/antioxidant defense.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of common errors seen on panoramic radiographs taken in the Radiology Department of a dental school by trained assistants. Four hundred and sixty radiographs were evaluated for 20 categories of common errors. Out of the evaluated radiographs, 37.61% were found to be error-free. The most common errors were found to be the palatoglossal airspace shadow of air above the tongue due to the patient not raising the tongue against the palate (46.30%) and the superimposition of hyoid bone with the mandible (26.30%) respectively. The least common error was found to be dirty or bent films (0.21%). The quality of panoramic radiographs could be enhanced by improving radiographic technique.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate students' knowledge and attitudes regarding cone beam CT (CBCT). Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 11 questions was given to 472 dental students (280 pre-graduate and 192 post-graduate) at two institutions located in Ankara, Turkey (Ankara University, Faculty of Dentistry, and Gazi University, Faculty of Dentistry). Differences in responses by institution, education level and sex were statistically assessed with the x 2 test. Results: Statistical results showed that only 63.3% of students had heard of CBCT. Of these, 59.9% said they had learned about CBCT in their classes, 31.0% in seminars and 20.9% from the internet; 76.8% felt that CBCT was not given adequate coverage in their courses; 69% thought that CBCT should be taught as part of their clinical education; 91% thought it essential for CBCT to be available at dental faculties; 53.5% believed that the use of CBCT would become more widespread in the near future; and 84.9% wished to use CBCT technology in their future careers. Conclusion: This research suggests that efforts should be made to improve students' knowledge base regarding CBCT and that the dental school curriculum should devote more curriculum time to this promising new technology.