This study examined the factors associated with acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to hesitance in the Pakistani population and specifically focusing on the perceived beliefs, knowledge, concerns, risk, and safety perception relating to the COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 423 subjects were recruited from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. A 27-item valid and reliable questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic characteristics, acceptance, and hesitance toward COVID-19 vaccine, perceived beliefs, knowledge, perceived concerns, risk, and safety of COVID-19 vaccines and its source of information. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used for analysis. About 53% of the participants were planning to get vaccinated and a significantly greater proportion of better educated, higher income, and healthier participants in the vaccine acceptance group (p < .05). The odds of knowing the vaccine they should get, having the confidence in the vaccine to stop the pandemic, and understanding the way vaccines work, were greater in the vaccine acceptance group than the vaccine-hesitant group (OR: 5.4; 3.5, 2.1, 3.1, respectively). Most participants (52.3%) obtained the information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine from the print and live news media (52.3%) followed by social media (23.7%). The lack of knowledge, understanding, and perception of the risk, safety partly explains the low rate of vaccine acceptance in the Pakistani population. Strategies to raise awareness of the benefits of vaccination should target individuals in the lower socioeconomic group and those with chronic disease.

Objectives: This study aims to describe the perception of dental professionals in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (SA) towards the practice of teledentistry, its usefulness and challenges. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 190 dentists from January 2021 to April 2021. The participants were included in the study using snowball sampling method. A 26-item adopted questionnaire was distributed using different social media channels. Chi-square test was used for analysis. Results: Out of 190 participants, 46.3% were from Pakistan and 53.7% were from SA. The majority of participants in both countries agreed that teledentistry would enhance guidelines and advice (74.2%), improve peer-to-peer interaction (79.5%) and make patient's referrals more efficient (75.8%). For the usefulness, most participants agree that it is economical for the patients (61.1%), improves communication (74.7%), helps in educating the patients (86.3%), avoid unnecessary travel (76.8%), helps monitoring (71.6%), and benefits patients in remote areas (74.7%); however, more Pakistani participants perceived that time spent with the patient would increase compared to SA participants ( p < 0.001) and a higher proportion of SA participants believe that it helps in communication and monitoring of patients ( p < 0.001) than Pakistani participants. Regarding the challenges in the use of teledentistry, few participants think that it violates the patient's privacy (22.6%) or is difficult to use (14.7%) or have distrust towards the teledentistry equipment (24.2%). Conclusion: The results indicated a high awareness and a positive attitude towards teledentistry, and its adaptation in their dental practice in both countries. However, limited infrastructure, set-up cost, and information technology (IT) literacy are the main challenges in integrating teledentistry which can be overcome by strategic government initiatives, policies, and programs.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the oral healthcare workers’ concerns, perceived impact, and preparedness in COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at 10 different dental hospitals in Pakistan from March to June 2020. A 35 items valid and reliable questionnaire was used to assess the concerns, perceived impact, and preparedness of oral healthcare workers (OHCW) in COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-squared test and logistic regression were used for analysis. Results: A total of 583 OHCW participated in this study. The odds of having the awareness about the risk of exposure and fear of getting infected, were greater in the clinical than non-clinical OHCW (OR: 52.6; OR: 15.9). For social network concerns, the clinical OHCW were more likely to be concerned about their colleagues (OR: 6.0). The clinical OHCW have greater odds of worrying about telling the family/friends about the risk exposed to (OR: 2.55), being avoided because of the job (OR: 3.20) and more likely to be feeling stressed (OR: 4.31). Less than 50% of the participants felt that their institutions are well prepared and only 12.6% had attended an infection control training session. Most participants practiced self-preparation such as buying masks and disinfection (94.3%, 98.3%). Conclusion: The majority of OHCW felt concerned about their risk of exposure to infection and falling ill from exposure and infecting friends/family. There is a need for training of infection control and PPE and minimizing fear and psychological impact on OHCW should be the priority in any preparedness and planning for combating COVID-19.

Background and objectives: Endodontic surgery has evolved over the last two decades. The use of state-of-the-art guided endodontic surgical procedures produces a predictable outcome in the healing of lesions of endodontic origin. The main objective of this review paper is to define and characterize guided surgical endodontics as well as its benefits and drawbacks by reviewing the most recent relevant scientific literature. Methods: A literature search was conducted using multiple databases comprising of MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, and Web of Science. The terms used for the search were ‘guided endodontics’, ‘surgical endodontics’, and ‘endodontic microsurgery’. Results: In total, 1152 articles were obtained from the analysis of the databases. Unrelated articles from the available full text of 388 articles were excluded. A total of 45 studies were finally included in the review. Conclusions: Surgical-guided endodontics is a relatively new area of study that is still maturing. It has many applications such as root canal access and localization, microsurgical endodontics, endodontic retreatment, and glass fiber post removal. Additionally, it does not matter how experienced the operator is; the procedure can be completed for the patient in less time and provides greater accuracy and safety than conventional endodontics.

Background. Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have a negative impact on quality of life, and dentists are at risk of WMSDs due to the nature of work being static, repetitious, and for a long duration. The study was aimed at measuring the prevalence and distribution of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders and determining the risk factors associated with affliction among Pakistani dentists. Methods. An online cross‐sectional survey was conducted using a validated questionnaire consisting of four sections. The first section had questions related to sociodemographic information, the second section had questions that assessed the intensity and frequency of musculoskeletal pain (MSP), third section questions were concerned with the effect of MSP on the respondents’ daily life, while the last section contained questions on whether they perceived their work in the dental clinic as a cause of their pain. Chi‐square and one‐way ANOVA tests were used for the analysis of the data in SPSS‐23. Results. A total of 600 completely filled questionnaires were received with a response rate of 76.4%, and about 87% of the dental practitioners had some sort of MSD. The intensity and frequency of WMSDs were statistically significant (p < 0.05) in association with all the sociodemographic characteristics. The lower back area was the most reported site of WMSD pain (51.3%) followed by the neck/upper back (21.3%) and shoulder (17.6%). The site of pain was statistically significant (p < 0.05) in association with all the sociodemographic characteristics except gender (p = 0.11). A majority of participants (95.4%) had sought medical treatment and taken sick leaves (70%) due to WMSDs pain during their life. Participants attributed a number of working years and working posture as the two main reasons behind WMSDs. Conclusion. Considering the high prevalence of WMSDs among dentists, preventive strategies that minimize the occurrence of WMSDs should be adopted by dental professionals. The impact of WMSDs can be reduced by maintaining good posture, taking breaks and rest in between work, doing regular exercise, and improving the work environment.

Background: Caries risk assessment is a useful tool in caries prevention and management. Using a tool such as CAMBRA, every individual can be assessed according to his or her disease indicators, risk factors, and protective factors for the current and future caries. Aim: This study aimed to assess caries risk among the general population of Sakaka, Saudi Arabia using the CAMBRA protocol. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at university dental clinics using a questionnaire that was formulated using the CAMBRA caries risk assessment tool; afterwards, all 160 participants were intra-orally examined to assess oral hygiene status and presence of disease. Independent t-tests, ANOVAs, and chi-square tests were performed for analysis. Results: The majority of participants had one or more disease indicators, with white spots and visible cavities (71.3%), and the most commonly present risk factor was visible heavy plaque on teeth (82.5%). The use of fluoridated toothpaste (92.5%) was the most common protective factor. The majority of participants (85%) were in the ‘High’ category of Caries risk assessment. The prevalence of high caries risk was significantly higher among the rural participants compared to the urban (p <0.05), and significantly fewer of those with a primary school education level or lower were in the high dental caries risk group compared to the other educational categories (p <0.001). Conclusion: The caries risk among the general population of Sakaka, Saudi Arabia, is high, with significant variation among age groups, education levels, and geographical locations.