Background: Knowledge of oral health is a fundamental prerequisite for healthy behavior, allowing individuals to take measures to protect their overall health. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the knowledge of oral health as well as to assess the oral hygiene habits among healthcare and non-healthcare students. Methods: The study was based on a questionnaire and was conducted among 1088 students. Most of the students, 67.6% were non-healthcare students. Data were processed by Mann–Whitney or Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test. Results: The correct median score and interquartile range were 11 (9–13) for all surveyed students, 11 (9–12) for students in non-healthcare programs and 13 (11–14) for students in healthcare programs. Students did not significantly differ in the knowledge of oral health by gender (p = 0.082) but did differ by age, study program, and year of study (p ≤ 0.001). Students whose family members work in the field of dental medicine also showed better oral health knowledge (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: The results showed good oral health knowledge among tested university students. However, it is important to emphasize that students who showed better knowledge more often used additional aids to maintain oral hygiene; therefore, the obtained data underline the importance of students’ further education in order to better understand and maintain oral health.

Objectives: The present study addresses the effect of fluoride and sodium lauryl sulphate content of toothpaste on oral epithelial cells in vivo conditions. Subjects and method: Forty volunteers were assigned into two experimental groups, each of them applying the different brand of toothpaste. Every group has been using three different types of toothpaste (non-fluoride and non-SLS, fluoride and non-SLS, and the fluoride and SLS) of the same brand for 6 months, each for 2 months. The buccal epithelial cells were sampled at baseline and 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days after the beginning of the research. Effect on DNA damage was analyzed by micronucleus assay Results: After 60 days of use, for both tested kinds of toothpaste with fluoride and without SLS, all studied parameters were not significantly different from the results obtained at the time when the participants used a non-fluoride toothpaste. While, after 60 days of use, for one kind of toothpaste with SLS and fluoride, was observed significantly higher incidence of pyknotic cells (2.20 ± 0.95, 0.00 ± 0.00 vs. 0.05 ± 0.22, respectively; p = .001), cells with karyorrhexis (2.35 ± 1.14, 0.85 ± 0.93 vs. 0.40 ± 0.68, respectively; p = .001), and nuclear buds (1.35 ± 0.68, 0.45 ± 0.51 vs. 0.45 ± 0.60, respectively; p = .001), compared to toothpastes of the same brand with fluoride and without SLS, and without fluoride and without SLS, for the same period. Conclusions: Based on the results, can be concluded that there is no fluorine-dependent cytotoxic or genotoxic effect, while SLS dentifrice increases the number of nuclear morphological changes in buccal epithelial cells.

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dental anxiety, its association with self-reported oral health, and sociodemographic factors in adults that are critical for improving oral health and well-being. Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted via social media, with 1551 adults (76.5% women, 23.5% men) participating nationwide. Data collected included demographic data, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) scores, and associations between dental anxiety, negative experiences, and self-reported oral health. The analysis included psychophysiological, behavioural, and emotional responses and avoidance of dental visits, using descriptive and generalised linear regression models. Results: This study found that the mean score of the MDAS was 9.70 ± 5.11 out of 25, 19.1% of the participants reported no dental anxiety, and 7.8% suffered from dental phobia. Gender, age, and socioeconomic status had no significant effect on the prevalence of anxiety. Although more than half of the participants reported negative dental experiences, particularly in childhood, anxiety levels were unaffected. However, those who rated their oral health as excellent or very good had lower anxiety scores (p = 0.008, p = 0.024). Among the dental procedures, oral surgery (58.7%) and prosthetic (restorative) dental treatments (15.2%) caused the most anxiety. Avoidance behaviour correlated with increased anxiety (p ≤ 0.001), as did postponing dental visits until severe pain occurred (p = 0.011). Conclusions: These results emphasise the significant prevalence of dental anxiety in adults, particularly for surgical procedures and drilling, posing challenges in patient management. Tailored strategies are essential to reduce anxiety, improve patient well-being, and optimise dental service delivery and treatment efficacy.

Lidia Gavic, DMD, PhD/Kristina Gorseta, DMD, MS, PhD/Ali Borzabadi-Farahani, DDS, MScD, MOrth RCS (Ed)/Antonija Tadin, DMD, PhD/Domagoj Glavina, DMD, MS, PhD/Raymond N. van Duinen, DDS, PhD/Edward Lynch, BDSc, MS, PhD, FDS RCS: The purpose of this study was to verify for various glass-ionomer cement (GIC) products whether the application of thermo-light curing on the initial curing material produces an increase in microhardness, and to determine whether this hardness varies depending on the depths of the GIC samples. The efficacy of various polymerization units on this additional hardening was also examined. The GIC samples were thermo-light cured for 60 seconds with three polymerization units. The Vickers microhardness was measured at three different depths: 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm. Analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls test showed statistically significant differences among tested samples for all three GIC groups (P < .001). The results of linear regression analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between the hardness of the material and the temperature for samples with depths of 2 mm (R = 0.78; P = .0028) and 3 mm (R = 0.59; P = .045). The findings of this study indicate that thermo-light curing of GIC with different polymerization units for 60 seconds during setting reaction increases the microhardness of the GICs at all depths tested and may increase resistance to mastication forces, which can be validated in future clinical studies.