The role of personality traits in modulating the incidence and progression of medical disease conditions are well documented, however, there is a paucity of information for its effects on dental health conditions and specifically on the prognosis of restorative dental materials. This study aims to evaluate the clinical performance of Micro-hybrid and Nano-ceramic composite restorations among patients with different personality traits. A total of 323 patients, indicated to receive operative treatment at a University Dental College Hospital, were invited to participate in this study. Consenting patients were requested to complete the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44 Item) personality questionnaire and were evaluated by a psychiatrist for categorizing the participants based on their personality traits. Out of the recruited patients, 124 patients falling in to the dominant trait of Agreeableness (n = 62) and Neuroticism (n = 62) were included in the study for further investigation. Next, patients from the Agreeableness (Group A) and the Neuroticism personality trait group (Group N) were randomly divided into two subgroups each—sub group Am (n = 44) and Nm (n = 48) for Micro-hybrid composite restorations and Sub group An (n = 42) and Nn (n = 47) for Nano-ceramic composite restorations. Two trained and calibrated dentists prepared the cavities according to previously published methodology. The restorations were evaluated at baseline (immediately after restoration), 6-months, 12-months and 24-months intervals by two blinded independent dental professionals for anatomical form, secondary caries, color match, retention, marginal adaptation, surface texture, marginal discoloration and post-operative sensitivity. There is no statistically significant difference noted in various parameters of restoration performance between Micro-hybrid composite and Nano-ceramic composite compared among ‘agreeableness’ personality group and among ‘neuroticism’ personality group after controlling the personality trait factor. Higher ‘Neuroticism’ individuals had higher restoration deterioration in color matching and surface texture when compared to higher ‘Agreeableness’ trait individuals. Regression analysis showed no effect of gender or cavity size on the outcome of results. Assessment of personality traits may serve as a useful tool during treatment planning which would aid clinicians in choosing suitable restorative dental material and prosthesis design according to individual patient’s physiological and functional needs, thereby overall improving the quality of treatment provided.

Background Psychological stress is a known risk factor and modulator for several oral diseases. It is among the critical etiological factors of bruxism and several other disorders. The quantum of bite force is one of the prime determinants of wear resistance and the clinical performance of restorations. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between the maximum voluntary bite force (MVBF) and the amount of perceived stress experienced by an individual. Materials and methods Patients (n=111) fulfilling the exclusion and inclusion criteria were divided into high, medium, and low-stress groups based on their stress scores deduced from the Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire (PSS). Bite force measurement was recorded in Newtons (N) for each subject using a portable customized bite recording FlexiForce sensor (B 201). The data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and independent samples t-test. Results Among the females, the bite force in the medium and high-stress groups was greater compared to the low-stress level group. On the other hand, there was no difference in bite force between any of the stress level groups among male participants. Conclusion The results show that higher MVBF is associated with higher perceived stress scores in adult females. Practical Implications Psychological counseling can be included in the dental treatment plan of individuals with a high-stress score to counteract their stress-related higher occlusal forces, parafunctional jaw movements, and risky oral health behaviors, thereby potentially reducing the incidence of adverse outcomes such as temporomandibular joint dysfunction and restoration failure by careful choice of restorative materials.

Aim: Pain management is a cornerstone in the practice of endodontics. However, optimum pain control has been a challenge in cases of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis resulting in a “hot tooth.” Thus, the objective of the study is to assess the knowledge and attitude and to determine the clinical protocols of “hot tooth” management followed among general practitioners and specialists. Materials and Methods: The KAP questionnaire contained 05 knowledge, 04 attitudes, and 06 practice-related items. The questionnaire was pretested among 10 randomly selected general dentists and endodontists. Testing–retesting was also performed. The questionnaire was self-administered and the acceptance to answer the questionnaire was considered consent to participate in the study. The sample size was calculated to be 200 with a 95% level of confidence. Descriptive statistics were used. For significance level, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The Chi-square test was used for comparison between the endodontists and the general dentists. Results: The anesthetic techniques that clinicians are most skilled in are infiltration and inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) – 96.6% and 98.5% respectively. The intraosseous technique (IO) was the least preferred technique (6.8%). The most common supplementary injection used among both the BDS and MDS graduates was intrapulpal anesthesia. In cases of acute pulpitis, 54% of the respondents prescribed NSAIDs as a pre-anesthetic medication. Conclusion: The current study shows that supplemental injections like intraosseous and intraligamental techniques are underutilized. Also, the benefits of preanesthetic medication for hot tooth management are not harnessed among clinicians despite the sufficient body of evidence.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the clinical performance of nanoceramic and microhybrid-based composite restorations in adult patients with different personality traits. Materials and Methods: Patients in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria were asked to complete the BFI (Big Five Inventory) questionnaire. Of a total of 323 patients, 124 (67 males and 57 females) patients were categorized into agreeableness and neuroticism traits and were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two subgroups: SG I A (n = 31) and II A (n = 31) for microhybrid composite (Spectrum TPH 3, Dentsply/DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany), SG I B (n = 31) and II B (n = 32) for nanoceramic composite restorations (Ceram X mono, Dentsply/DeTrey, Germany). At baseline, 6 and 12 months, the restorations were evaluated using the Modified USPHS (United States Public Health Service) evaluation criteria. The Pearson chi-square and the Fisher’s exact test were used to assess the difference between the personality traits and restorative material groups where a probability value of P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Result: Most of the restorations scored alfa (A), whereas very few scored bravo (B) in all the subgroups. However, there were no charlie (C) or delta (D) scores. Overall, Spectrum TPH and Ceram x mono displayed superior performances in retention and postoperative sensitivity than all the other clinical parameters. Furthermore, Ceram x mono restorations showed more surface roughness than Spectrum TPH. No statistical differences in the restoration performance were found between both personalities and restorative material types. Conclusion: Although neuroticism has an effect on various health outcomes, its impact on the clinical performance of composite restorations during the follow-up period was not observed. In addition, there was no difference between the performance of nanohybrid and microhybrid composite.