Aim The present study aimed to explore the perceptions of dental students regarding the ethical considerations associated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in clinical decision-making.Methods All the undergraduate clinical-year dental students were invited to take part in the study. A validated online questionnaire which consisted of 21 closed-ended questions (five-point Likert scales) was distributed to the students to evaluate their perceptions on the topic. Mean perception scores of the students from different years were analysed using a one-way ANOVA test, while independent t-tests were used to compare the scores between sexes.Results In total, 165 students participated in the present study. The mean age of the respondents was 23.3 (± 1.38) years and the majority were female, Chinese students. Respondents showed positive perceptions throughout all three domains. Uniform and comparable perceptions were seen across various academic years and sexes, with female respondents expressing stronger agreement regarding patient consent and privacy prioritisation.Conclusion Undergraduate clinical dental students generally showed positive perceptions regarding the ethical considerations associated with the integration of AI algorithms in clinical decision-making. It is essential to address these ethical considerations to ensure that AI benefits patient outcomes while upholding fundamental ethical principles and patient-centred care.
Introduction Due to a rising prevalence of removable partial denture (RPD) use, there is an unmet need to explore the psychological impact on patient wellbeing.Aim To assess the psychological effects of consumers losing teeth and receiving partial dentures to better manage their needs.Design Four market research surveys, undertaken on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, are described.Setting Surveys were conducted across the US, Japan, Malaysia, Colombia, Brazil, Poland and Italy.Materials and methods Quantitative/qualitative methods were used to gain knowledge regarding patients' experiences living with partial dentures.Results In a global market research survey involving 3,952 RPD wearers (RPDWs), 54% said that losing teeth was difficult to accept, 40% were concerned about their appearance, 32% were embarrassed about wearing dentures and 62% wished that more oral care education was available when they were younger. In another survey of >1,000 RPDWs, self-esteem was negatively impacted in 51% of respondents and 57% reported anxiety around dental visits.Conclusions Global market research confirmed that RPDWs can have emotional and practical needs that are not well understood/documented by dental healthcare professionals (HCPs). Consumer research can enhance understanding of patients' needs by dental HCPs and provide suggestions about how they may address them.
Introduction Virus particles in respiratory droplets and aerosols generated during medical/dental procedures are a potential source of SARS-CoV-2 cross infection. In the dental setting, oral decontamination could be an important adjunct to personal protective equipment and is recommended by a number of national COVID-19 guidance documents for dental settings.Aim To assess the in vitrovirucidal activity of an oral povidone iodine (PVP-I) product against SARS-CoV-2.Material and methods BETADINE gargle and mouthwash (1% PVP-I) was tested against SARS-CoV-2 virus under both clean and dirty conditions using a suspension assay based on EN14476 methodology. Virucidal activity of the product, undiluted and at 1:2 dilution, was tested at contact times of 15, 30 and 60 seconds. Viral titres were calculated using the Spearman-Kärber method and reported as median tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50/ml).Results The undiluted product achieved >5 log10 reduction in viral titres compared to the control at 15, 30 and 60 seconds under both clean and dirty conditions. At a twofold dilution (0.5% PVP-I), the test product demonstrated >4 log10 kill at 15 seconds and >5 log10 kill at 30 and 60 seconds in both clean and dirty conditions.Conclusion PVP-I gargle and mouthwash product, undiluted and at 1:2 dilution, demonstrated potent and rapid virucidal activity (≥4 log10 reduction of viral titre) in 15 seconds against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. The PVP-I gargle and mouthwash product is widely available and could be readily integrated into infection control measures during dental treatment including pre-procedural oral decontamination.
Objective Following a survey of the literature, a systematic review was carried out with the aim of answering the following questions: 1) What is 'acceptable plagiarism'?; 2) Who carries out plagiarism?; 3) What factors could encourage plagiarism?; 4) How can plagiarism be managed?Data source and selection Following PRISMA guidelines, data were gathered by searching Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science. After removal of duplicates, 345 titles were identified. Then, having satisfied a priori eligibility criteria, 29 papers were interrogated. The quality of relevant papers (n = 23) was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Tool.Data extraction There was no clear threshold as to what is 'acceptable plagiarism'. Despite this lack of clarity, it is argued consistently that males, and those who wrote in a language that is not their mother tongue, were more likely to plagiarise.Conclusion Plagiarism is all but inescapable due to various reasons: 1) there is no agreed threshold as to what is 'acceptable plagiarism'; 2) the internet; 3) institutional; and 4) societal expectations. Plagiarism could be mitigated in the student domain by grammar support and, for example, non-written submissions such as presenting work by video. Academic fraud is fundamentally undermined by valuing original and creative scholarship and sound ethical principles.
Introduction This case series highlights the condition juvenile spongiotic gingivitis; how to recognise it, where it lies in a list of differential diagnoses and why conservative management is the authors' recommended treatment.Case series The authors present ten cases that were successfully managed conservatively on the Joint Oral Medicine Paediatric Dentistry Clinic at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust over a six-year period. Follow-ups reached up to 5 years and 11 months to date, with no adverse outcomes observed in any of the cases.Conclusion The pathogenesis of this benign condition and its ideal management is not well understood. Recurrence can occur after surgical treatment and the condition is likely to spontaneously resolve or regress with age. Therefore, particularly in asymptomatic cases, conservative management is recommended.
Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between smoking and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among dentate people aged 16 years and above in England.
Methods: Cross-sectional study, based on the Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) 2009. ADHS 2009 involved data collection from 11,380 face-to-face interviews and 6,469 dental examinations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This study focuses on the dentate sample from England, consisting of 5,622 individuals who underwent dental examination. OHRQoL was measured by two indices; Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP). Unadjusted and adjusted zero-inflated regression models were used. Adjustment was sequentially done for socio-demographics, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.
Results: Prevalence of those who had never smoked, past smokers and current smokers were 45.6%, 35.3% and 19.2% respectively. Current smokers had considerably higher mean OHIP-14 and OIDP scores than non-smokers. There was a statistically significant association between smoking and OHRQoL (both OHIP-14 and OIDP) even in the fully adjusted models. Current smokers were more likely to report worse OHRQoL compared to those who had never smoked in both OHIP-14 and OIDP score. There was no statistically significant difference between past smokers with those who had never smoked in reporting OHIP-14 and OIDP. Among those reporting OHRQoL, there was a stepwise gradient risk of reporting no oral impact, where the probability was higher among those who had never smoked, followed by past smokers and current smokers both in OHIP-14 and OIDP.
Conclusion: Smoking was independently associated with worse OHRQoL, even after adjusting for a range of socio-demographic factors, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.
Dentistry is highly energy and resource intensive with significant environmental impact. Factors inherent in the profession such as enormous electricity demands of electronic dental equipment, voluminous water requirements, environmental effects of biomaterials (before, during and after clinical use), the use of radiation and the generation of hazardous waste involving mercury, lead etc have contributed towards this. With rising temperatures across the world due to global warming, efforts are being made worldwide to mitigate the effects of environmental damage by resorting to sustainability concepts and green solutions in a myriad of ways. In such a scenario, a professional obligation and social responsibility of dentists makes it imperative to transform the practice of dentistry from a hazardous to a sustainable one, by adopting environmental-friendly measures or 'green dentistry'. The NHS in the UK has been proactive in implementing sustainability in healthcare by setting targets, developing guidance papers, initiating steering groups to develop measures and implementing actions through its Sustainable Development Unit (SDU). Such sustainable frameworks, specific to dentistry, are not yet available and even the scientific literature is devoid of studies in this field although anecdotal narratives abound. Hence this paper attempts to present a comprehensive evaluation of the existing healthcare sustainability principles, for their parallel application in the field of dentistry and lays out a blueprint for integrating the two main underlying principles of sustainability - resource use efficiency and eliminating or minimising pollution - in the day-to-day practice. The article also highlights the importance of social values, community care, engaging stakeholders, economic benefits, developing policy and providing leadership in converting the concept of green dentistry into a practised reality.
This article presents a distant complication in the auricle following the administration of a standard inferior alveolar nerve block. The patient experienced profound numbness of the auricle on the ipsilateral side of the injection that lasted for about an hour following unintended injection to the auriculotemporal nerve.