This study aimed to investigate the current state of research on antibacterial dental adhesives. The interest in this field can be drawn from an increasing number of scholarly works in this area. However, there is still a lack of quantitative measurement of this topic. The main aim of this study was to consolidate the research published on the antibacterial adhesive from 1996 to 2020 in Web of Science indexed journals. The bibliometric method, a quantitative study of investigating publishing trends and patterns, was used for this study. The result has shown that a gradual increase in research was found, whereby a substantial increase was observed from 2013. A total of 248 documents were published in 84 journals with total citations of 5107. The highly cited articles were published mainly in Q1 category journals. Most of the published articles were from the USA, China, and other developed countries; however, some developing countries contributed as well. The authorship pattern showed an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach among researchers. The thematic evaluation of keywords along with a three-factor analysis showed that ‘antibacterial adhesives’ and ‘quaternary ammonium’ have been used commonly. This bibliometric analysis can provide direction not only to researchers but also to funding organizations and policymakers.

Studies assessing the clinical and radiographic success of LSTR in terms of the presence of pain, mobility, swelling, fistula/sinus tract, interradicular radiolucency, and root resorption have not been performed. We therefore performed a systematic review with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of lesion sterilization and tissue repair (LSTR), using three antibacterial mixtures (3Mix), in treating primary teeth. Well-defined search strategies developed for four electronic databases, Web of Science, OVID, PubMed, and Scopus, were used in this study. Two independent reviewers selected relevant articles from 3,232 studies by screening titles and abstracts. Based on the inclusion criteria, 25 articles were selected. Eight analyses of clinical and radiographic results were conducted based on 6, 12, 18, and 24-month follow-up intervals. Data extraction and quality appraisal were performed by three independent reviewers. The composition of antibiotic mixtures used for LSTR varied substantially, with inconsistent radiographic and clinical success rates across the included studies. A quantitative grouping of the studies showed no significant differences between 3Mix and the control medicaments regarding radiographical and clinical success (p-value > 0.05). The available evidence on different LSTR using 3Mix is scarce, and the study findings were inconsistent. Therefore, additional clinical trials on 3Mix with different compositions are needed.

The objective of our study was to evaluate dental students’ perception of the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic related to their clinical work, education, performance, online examinations, psychological health, and teamwork. A validated online questionnaire consisting of closed ended questions was sent to all the undergraduate dental students at our institute. Data were collected and analyzed statistically using a chi-square test to compare responses of male with female and junior with senior students. A total of 317 undergraduate dental students (N = 317) participated in this cross-sectional study. The most common challenges perceived by the participants were related to their exam duration (77.3%), patient availability (66.9%), difficulty in understanding online lectures (58.4%), and a fear of losing grades (57.4%). Participants reported that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their performance in the courses (75.4%), teamwork (72.2%), educational aspects (67.5%), and psychological health (51.1%). A significantly greater proportion of female students reported the adverse effects of COVID-19 on their psychological health than male students (p = 0.031). Senior students perceived the negative impact of COVID-19 on teamwork significantly more than the junior students (p = 0.004). The majority of students reported challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female students and senior students perceived more challenges than their counterparts. Future studies from other institutes of this region are recommended to establish a clearer picture of COVID-19 related challenges faced by dental students.

Introduction: Regenerative endodontic therapy aims to restore the pulp-dentin complex through biological approaches; however, current cell-free techniques often fail to achieve true dental pulp regeneration and may result in fibrous tissue formation or canal calcification. This study investigated dynamic hydrogels as advanced scaffolds for dental pulp stem cell (DPSC)-mediated regeneration, leveraging their viscoelastic properties to regulate cellular behavior and immune responses. Methods: Dynamic hydrogels were synthesized using host-guest chemistry (Gel-Mal/HA-Ada-CD-SH) to mimic aspects of the native extracellular matrix and were compared with non-dynamic Gel-Mal hydrogels. DPSCs and macrophages were encapsulated within the hydrogels to evaluate cellular viability, morphology, inflammatory marker expression, and gene expression profiles. Results: Dynamic hydrogels exhibited a distinct porous microarchitecture and significantly increased NF-κB and VEGF expression while reducing IL-1RA expression compared with non-dynamic hydrogels. Gene expression analysis demonstrated significantly increased TGFβ1, SMAD3, and MAPK expression, together with reduced CD80 expression, in macrophages cultured within dynamic hydrogels. Although iNOS expression was lower in the dynamic hydrogel group, the difference was not statistically significant. Discussion: These findings suggest that dynamic hydrogels do not simply suppress inflammatory signaling but may modulate inflammatory and tissue remodeling pathways while promoting angiogenesis-associated responses. Limitations of the study include the short-term in vitro design and evaluation of a limited panel of inflammatory and fibrosis-associated markers. Within these limitations, dynamic hydrogels demonstrated favorable cellular and immunomodulatory responses and may provide a biologically active microenvironment that supports cellular activities relevant to regenerative endodontic applications. Further in vivo studies are required to validate their translational potential.