Background: Optimum oral health is impossible to achieve without managing dental caries. The first step to manage dental caries at a community level is to know its prevalence and trend. Unfortunately, the prevalence of dental caries at the national/regional level is not known in many developing countries. Pakistan is no exception. The present meta-analysis was planned to document the prevalence of dental caries at the national, as well as regional level. This paper will serve as a baseline for making future health policies, and health promotion activities in the country. Methods: Literature was searched through various databases, such as PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of science using: "Prevalence", "Dental Caries", "Dental Decay" and "Severity" as keywords. Any study that reported the prevalence of dental caries, and was conducted in the Pakistani population was included. Thirty studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Quality assessment of all the included studies was performed using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for prevalence studies. MedCalc software was used to analyze the data. Results: In total 27,878 subjects were included in a meta-analysis from 30 studies. The prevalence estimate of dental caries at the national level was 56.62% (95% CI: 49.54 to 63.57). The I² value was 99.07% (95% CI: 98.94 to 99.18), (I² > 75%) indicating heterogeneity, hence pooled proportion was reported using a random-effect model. The prevalence estimate of dental caries in Sindh was 58.946% (95% CI: 43.796 to 73.274), and in Punjab, it was 55.445% (95% CI: 44.174 to 66.44), whilst in Baluchistan and KPK combined was 51.168% (95% CI: 22.930 to 79.004). Conclusion: Based on the existing data nearly 60% of the Pakistani population have dental caries. The proportion is almost the same in all provinces. Most of the included studies were found to be of high risk.

Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is a novel concept that has evolved over the past two decades. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also recognized it as a significant part of the Global Oral Health Program (2003). Information on OHRQoL gives better understanding about feelings and perceptions on an individual level. It also helps us to understand the impact of oral health on the lives on the patients and their family. It is now well documented that oral diseases and conditions impact people’s life. Some of the oral diseases/conditions like caries, dental fluorosis, tooth loss, periodontal disease, dental injuries, oral cancer, dental anomalies, craniofacial disorders, and many more have got negative impact on QoL. This paper identifies the various literatures published on the impact of oral diseases and conditions on OHRQoL in the population of Saudi Arabia. Although numerous researches can be found in other countries, the data on Saudi Arabian population are limited, leading to the need for carrying out more research in this area.

Introduction: Oral infections are most frequently caused by three oral microorganisms: Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), and Candida albicans (C. albicans). Objectives: To evaluate antimicrobial potential of 10% ginger extract (GE) and apple vinegar against S. Mutans, E. faecalis, and C. albicans. Materials and Method: The GE and apple cider vinegar (ACV) were tested for microbiological evaluation to identify the inhibitory zone using the agar disk diffusion test against S. mutans, C. albicans, and E. faecalis. Result: The 10% ethanolic GE and ACV showed a maximum zone of inhibition zone against S. mutans, E. Faecalis, and C. albicans. The intragroup comparison was insignificant. Conclusion: Apple vinegar and 10% ethanolic GE were shown to have good antimicrobial properties against all three tested pathogens.

Worldwide healthcare professionals are experiencing constant stress during their day-to-day work due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Students' anxiety tendency has also been increased due to the disturbance of education. This study aims to evaluate the anxiety and depression levels of dental hygiene students in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 lockdown period. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the dental hygiene students in Saudi Arabia to assess the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Questionnaire was distributed to the students, which consisted questions regarding demographics, knowledge, and fear related to COVID-19 and validated self-reported anxiety screening scale (GAD-7), to assess the psychological impact. All the data were then subjected to statistical analysis. Students from King Abdul Aziz University and Prince Sattam University showed statistically higher anxiety score when comparing the GAD-7 questions. Students whose parents were unemployed during pandemic and the students from rural area had statistically greater anxiety level when compared to others. Also, anxiety levels were found to be significantly higher among students who slightly feared contacting the disease because of their profession. The present results demonstrate that dental hygiene students suffered from some form of anxiety ranging from mild anxiety to severe anxiety, reporting that they frequently felt nervous and were scared that something terrible would happen. Psychological well-being of healthcare professionals is necessary for the optimal treatment of patients. Anxiety is considered as an important factor for healthcare students that may influence negatively on their personal and academic life. Thus appropriate assessment and offering immediate treatment will prove beneficial to prevent serious consequences.

Aim: To assess the knowledge and practice of Saudi dental hygiene students regarding the use of mouthwashes in clinical practice. Background: Mouthwashes are chemical plaque control agents which are widely used for the prevention of tooth decay, gaining fresh breath, reducing plaque and calculus formation, and reducing gingival inflammation. Chlorhexidine is considered a gold standard mouthwash because of its substantivity action. Thus, it is very important for dental practitioners to understand the knowledge and practices regarding the use of Chlorhexidine mouthwash Objective: The primary objective of this study was to find dental hygiene students’ knowledge about chlorhexidine mouthwash and its side effects and also identify their practice toward the use of mouthwashes as plaque inhibiting agents. Methods: An online version of a pre-tested and validated questionnaire was used to test the knowledge and practices towards the use of Chlorhexidine mouthwash. Thus, A Cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out in Saudi Arabia on dental hygiene students. Results: A total of 144 filled questionnaires were obtained out of which 88% were male and 12% were female. After converting the scores into percentages, any score 80% as a good score. Dental hygiene students showed an average knowledge about Chlorhexidine mouthwash with a score of 62.27% and also poor practice with a score of 57.98%. Conclusion: The findings of this cross-sectional study demonstrate that most of the Dental hygiene students in Saudi Arabia have got average knowledge and poor practice about the usage of Chlorhexidine mouthwash. Clinical Significance: Being the oral health care providers, it is mandatory for dental hygiene students to have adequate knowledge regarding the usage of mouthwashes. With optimum knowledge, they will be able to deliver the right information to the patients thereby ensuring the proper practice of the same.