Dental health is often neglected among the elderly because of the numerous comorbidities in this population, such as cardiovascular diseases. However, dental health influences general health and quality of life by impacting both the general health and the psychological state of the individual. The present review highlights the main dental comorbidities in the elderly population, their impact on the quality of life, the barriers towards access to dental care in the elderly and methods to improve their dental health. Information related to dental care and its importance must be provided both to older individuals and their caregivers in order to detect dental pathology and treat it adequately. Ensuring dental health involves the whole society of elders, caregivers, dental care providers, the public sector, health policymakers, and the private sector.

The use of social networking sites for socializing, having fun, solving academic tasks or even getting counselling for health-related problems is now inevitable. Methods: A total of 427 medical students, who are users of social media sites, were included in the research. Data about socio-demographic, anthropometric, and self-rated items regarding satisfaction with physical and mental health were collected. Three psychological tools were also used to measure self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), body-esteem (Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults) and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale). Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: Students use these networks for socialization (49.0%), entertainment (31.1%) and academic tasks (19.9%), spending 3.38 ± 0.80 h per day on SNSs. Less than half of them (47.5%) compared themselves to other SNS profiles. The use of Snapchat was found to be strongly positively correlated with self-esteem, and weight status was negatively correlated with the use of TikTok. More than three-quarters declared that they exercised to lose weight or to prevent weight gain. Participants were found to have a high level of body esteem. Almost half of the students proved to have a moderate to a high level of loneliness. Age and gender were found to be important: the younger the user, the higher the scores for loneliness and feeling depressed, and the greater the number of hours on SNSs. The total score for self-esteem was significantly higher in men than in women, and male students appreciated themselves as being in a better state of mental health than women. Conclusions: The results prove a relationship between the use of SNSs and the presence of loneliness, self-esteem and body-esteem, with gender differences. However, the use of SNSs should not be neglected in clinical settings, and are a good means of reaching patients and providing medical and psychological intervention.

Background: Studies in the recent decades show that the medical profession has a high risk to develop burnout due to constant exposure to mental and physical suffering or death. The pandemic period induced additional stress for healthcare professionals due to the likelihood of a high rate of infection, long working shifts, using protective equipment, staying away from family, implementing new medical procedures. The present study is focusing on assessing the prevalence of burnout among physicians working in the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic, and discovering the main factors associated with burnout syndrome among the population of physicians. Material and methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed, Wiley, and Google Scholar in November 2021. A total of 35 studies were eligible for the evaluation. Results: The samples ranged from 39 to 3071 physicians, and the overall burnout ranged from 14.7% to 90.4%. Sociodemographic characteristics associated with a high prevalence of burnout were the female gender, less experienced, not having children, and single marital status, associated with high levels of anxiety, depression, and stress in the female gender. The highest level of burnout among all the studies was 90.4% on a sample of physicians from the Republic of Korea, 80.2% among psychiatrists in Saudi Arabia, followed by a study in Ireland with a 77% level of burnout among senior and specialist physicians, and 74.7% prevalence of burnout for emergency physicians in USA. Conclusions: During the pandemic, the factors that contribute to burnout are the lack of personal protective equipment and the violence of issues related to organizational health; the high prevalence of burnout symptoms is associated with anxiety, depression, and stress.

Background and Objectives: The goal of this survey was to identify the relationship between the level of satisfaction with body image, perceived health, and the usage of social media among freshmen medical university students. The influence of social media and peers was also related to body image. Materials and Methods: An online survey was distributed among freshmen healthcare students. The questionnaire collected sociodemographic, anthropometric data, and information about students’ perception about healthy lifestyle using open-ended questions, as well as their opinion about the importance of perfect body image and the level of satisfaction with their physical appearance. Questions focusing on the use of social media and the relationship with body image collected data on the use of social networks and how they affect students’ opinion about their own body image. Psychometric data were also gathered using the Body Consciousness Scale. For the statistical analysis, QSR NUD*IST (Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing Searching and Theorizing) Vivo 12 was used for qualitative data and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics for Windows, version 23 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for descriptive and comparative results. Results: In total, 77 students aged 20.09 ± 2.47 years, of which the majority were women (75.30%), were included in the survey. The use of social network was about 4.81 ± 3.60 h/day. Facebook was the most used social networking site (94.80%), followed by Instagram (92.20%), Snapchat (16.90%), WhatsApp (15.60%), and TikTok (10.40%). The most common reason for using these sites was socialization. We found that 64.90% of healthcare students were normal weight. The main barriers for having a healthy lifestyle, as they were perceived by students, were the busy schedule and the lack of time needed to prepare healthy meals, lack of motivation, and lack of money. Women scored higher for the Private Body Consciousness and Public Body Consciousness scales. The main aspects related to a healthy lifestyle referred to physical activity, consumption of fruit and vegetables, water consumption, and a good quality of sleep. Gender differences were discussed as well. Conclusions: The results illustrated the complexity of the relationship between social media and body image and the need to prevent body image concerns, especially in young women.

Background and Objectives: Periodontal inflammation, often linked to oral microbiota dysbiosis dominated by pathogenic bacteria, remains a significant challenge in periodontitis management. Traditional periodontal therapies primarily reduce the bacterial load but fail to restore the microbiota balance. Probiotics offer a promising therapeutic adjunct with their ability to enhance beneficial bacteria. This study investigates the effects of probiotics on the oral microbiota, inflammatory markers (IL-1β, TNF-α), and clinical parameters (gingival index, bleeding index, and periodontal pocket depth). Materials and Methods: In this pilot study, 80 patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis were assigned to two groups. Group A received standard periodontal therapy (non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT)) with probiotic supplementation (Lactobacillus reuteri, 2 × 10⁹ CFU daily for 8 weeks), and Group B received standard treatment with a placebo. Microbiological changes were assessed via quantitative PCR, while inflammatory markers (IL-1β, TNF-α) were analyzed using ELISA. Clinical parameters, including the gingival index (GI), bleeding index (BI), and periodontal pocket depth (PPD), were measured at baseline (T0), 4 weeks (T1), and 8 weeks (T2) using standardized methods. Results: Probiotic therapy (Group A) significantly reduced the pathogenic bacteria and increased the beneficial bacteria levels compared to the placebo (p < 0.01). Inflammatory markers decreased by 37% (IL-1β) and 42% (TNF-α), while clinical parameters improved, with reductions in the gingival and bleeding indices (−1.5, −1.3) and a 2 mm decrease in the periodontal pocket depth (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Probiotics, as an adjunct to periodontal therapy, effectively restore the microbiota balance, reduce inflammation, and improve clinical outcomes in periodontitis.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, dental faculties had to rethink their way of teaching and interacting with students and of delivering solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills to students. Background: The purpose of the study was to assess dentistry students’ opinions about the online activity, together with a self-evaluation of their mental and physical health, during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey. Three hundred and three students, enrolled across all six years of study, were included in the research. Socio-demographic and academic data were collected, along with a self-evaluation of physical and mental status. Some items investigated students’ opinions about distance learning and the impact of that online activity on their achievement. The answers were rated using a five-item Likert-like scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS (v.24). Results: statistical analyses showed that more than 20% of the students strongly agreed with the statement that they felt more anxious and depressed during the first months of the pandemic, and more than 30% were totally satisfied with their relationships with their family members. One-fifth of the respondents declared that they were totally dissatisfied with the relationships with their colleagues and friends. Overall, 50.60% of the students attended the courses/labs in their entirety when they were connected online. Two-thirds of the respondents considered that their practical training was affected due to the online activity, and that not all of the subjects could be taught online. More than half of the respondents agreed that the most objective evaluation method is that of the multiple-choice exams administered at school, and considered that exclusively utilizing online assessments of students encourages unethical behaviors. Age, involvement in online activity, and active participation using video cameras were strongly correlated with satisfaction with academic results. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that online activity was a good alternative for dentistry students during the pandemic restrictions. The positive aspects, together with the negative consequences, of distance learning should also be taken into consideration by university teachers and academic institutions to improve teaching experiences and to ensure a solid professional formation for dentistry students.