To explore the global trends in blended learning in undergraduate dental education during the COVID pandemic and during the recovery phase by engaging with the students and faculty and evaluate the...

Blended learning is growing in popularity particularly following the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. One of the fields that the pandemic has substantially affected is dental education. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the online dental education. Students’ perceptions and experiences of blended learning were also investigated. Methods: A 28-question online survey was designed to gauge students’ perceptions of the effect of blended learning on their academic performance. Results: 314 participants in preclinical and clinical years completed the questionnaire (223 females and 91 males). The majority of students (89%) believed that clinical and practical courses cannot be given by the internet. In terms of students’ opinion in the assessment process, more females (65.8%) preferred traditional exams than males (50.5%) (p < 0.05). Most clinical students (83%) preferred a combination of online and traditional teaching compared to 72% of preclinical students (p < 0.05). Clinical year students were more willing to communicate electronically with their classmates and instructors. The majority of dental students (65%) reported that future dental courses should be blended. Conclusions: In the pandemic era, blended learning, should become the preferred method of education whereby theoretical knowledge is delivered through online tutorials and clinical training is resumed on-site, to ensure competency of dental graduates while maintaining safety of the dental team. Current facilities and course designs should be improved in order to improve students’ experiences with blended learning.

This study aimed at assessing the performance of Reciproc Blue (RB) and XP Endo Shaper (XPS), used for canal retreatment on extracted teeth, in terms of debris extrusion and obturating materials removal. Thirty mandibular premolars were prepared to ProTaper X2 file, obturated using warm vertical compaction, and then incubated for 28 days at 100% humidity at 37°C. Teeth were randomly assigned into two groups, according to the system used for retreatment (RB and XPS). During retreatment, debris extruded beyond the apex was collected in preweighed Eppendorf tubes, and the retreatment time was measured. Afterward, the teeth were longitudinally sectioned to assess the remaining obturating materials. Data were statistically analyzed using the Mann–Whitney test and chi-square test at a 95% confidence level. All the samples had extruded debris at varying weights ranging from 0.125 mg to 3.680 mg. XPS extruded less debris than RB, but no difference was detected (Mann–Whitney test; ). RB and XPS required 54.9 ± 17.9 and 22.3 ± 9.3 seconds to perform retreatment procedures, respectively (Mann–Whitney test; ). The sealer was found in all the samples. Compared to the RB group, fewer samples with remaining gutta-percha were found in the XPS group (Chi-square test; ). None of the files fractured during the retreatment procedure. The tested files appear to extrude debris beyond the apex. Although XPS was able to remove the gutta-percha completely from the majority of the canals, it was unable to remove the sealer.

This study investigated the impact of preparation design and material types on fracture strength in maxillary premolars endocrowns after thermodynamic aging. Eighty two-rooted maxillary premolar crowns underwent endodontic treatment (N = 80, n = 10). The teeth were categorized into ten groups (4-mm deep with no intracanal extension lithium disilicate glass ceramic & multilayer zirconia endocrowns (LE0 & ZE0); 4-mm deep with 4-mm intracanal extension in one canal (LE1 & ZE1); 4-mm deep with 2-mm intracanal extensions in both canals (LE2 & ZE2); flat overlays with no endocore (LO & ZO); glass fiber reinforced post & core and crown (LC & ZC)). After cementation, all specimens were subjected to 1500 thermocycles and 1,200,000 chewing cycles with an axial occlusal load of 49 N. A static loading test was performed at a non-axial 45° loading using a universal testing machine and failure modes (Type I: restoration debonding; Type II: restoration fracture; Type III: restoration/tooth complex fracture above bone level; Type IV: restoration/tooth complex fracture below bone level) were evaluated using a stereoscope. Data were ananalzed using 2-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests (alpha = 0.05). The endocrowns manufactured from multilayered zirconia and pressed lithium disilicate glass ceramic exhibited a fracture load ranging between 1334 ± 332 N and 756 ± 150 N, with ZC presenting the highest and LE2 the lowest values. The differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). All endocrowns tested in this study performed similar considering the different designs and materials tested. The distribution of fracture modes did not differ significantly depending on the design of the restoration and the type of material used.

Aims. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical practices of local anesthesia in children. The study also sought to investigate pediatric dentists’ views on articaine infiltration anesthesia and their willingness to use it to replace the inferior dental nerve block in primary molars. Materials and Methods. A cross‐sectional survey was emailed to 183 registered specialists. Descriptive statistics along with chi‐square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for data analysis. Results. A total of 72 responses were received. The sample consisted of 62 (86.1%) females and 10 (13.8%) males with varying levels of experience. The vast majority of respondents (98.6%) used topical anesthesia in their practice with children. The most frequently used anesthetic agent was 2% lidocaine (72.2%) followed by 4% articaine (54.2%). The entire sample indicated that they frequently find difficulties in dose calculation for their child patient. Gender and level of experience did not significantly influence specialists’ practice or their knowledge of local anesthesia. More than a third (31.9%) of participants were not happy to replace the block anesthesia with articaine infiltration for the treatment of lower primary molars. The most indicated reasons for this unwillingness were lack of effectiveness (11%) and inadequate scientific evidence (11%). Conclusion. Most pediatric dentists used topical anesthesia with children. Lidocaine was the most commonly used injectable local anesthesia. Specialists’ current practices of local anesthesia in children generally conformed well to good standards. However, inadequate knowledge regarding dose calculation was revealed. In addition, specialists’ reluctance to use articaine infiltration instead of the block anesthesia was evident in the current population. Further studies, with larger sample size are encouraged.