Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry (JOCPD) is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal, which is currently indexed in SCIE, etc., aming to provide clinically relevant information to enable the practicing dentist to have access to the state of the art in pediatric dentistry.

Rising antibiotic use is a serious threat to the success of therapy in dentistry for bacterial resistance and side effects to the patients. The dentist community in Albania prescribing too many antibiotics. This survey assesses the mode of antibiotic use among Albanian dentists, with appropriate dosage and regimen, and antibiotic stewardship and their knowledge of relevant guidelines. Material and Methods: This survey study was conducted among 180 Albanian dentists. The questionnaire was distributed through e-mail addresses found in the database of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Medicine of Tirana. We assessed 180 dentists out of which 154 (85.56%) completed the entire questionnaire. Results: There were 24,870 prescriptions in adult patients from 154 dentists for a period of six months with an average of 1,243 prescriptions per week. The most used antibiotics were fixed combinations of amoxicillin–clavulanic acid (67.43%) and azithromycin (39.3%) for allergic patients to beta-lactams. The results for antibiotic stewardship were incorrect in 37.01% of total providers, and gastrointestinal disorders were reported as side effects. Conclusion: This survey conducted among Albanian dentists shows a different trend of using antibiotics than in other countries. To tackle the current antibiotic resistance, dentists must be an important part of the antimicrobial stewardship program of the Public Health Institution in Albania to change individual behavior.

This study had two aims. First, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of ACB, PCB, and oral habits among a group of Albanian children with ASD compared with a group of children without ASD. Second, we aimed to identify the associations of ASD with ACB, PCB, and oral habits. The sample inlcuded 125 children with ASD (91 males, 34 females) from 2 special schools for children with disabilities and 2 daily residential centers in Tirana. The control group included 125 children without ASD. The relationships between categorical variables were evaluated via the chi-square test. To identify the potential risk factors for ASD, we performed binary logistic regression. No statistically significant differences were found for CB or oral habits between the primary and adolescent dentition stages. A comparison of children with ASD with CB and oral habits revealed a significant difference in the prevalence of PCB. Binary logistic regression revealed that ACB, PCB and oral habits were not associated with ASD. CB was more prevalent among children with ASD in the primary and mixed dentition stages. Oral habits were more prevalent in the mixed and adolescent dentition stages. However, ASD is not a risk factor for CB or other oral habits.

Introduction: The world faced serious health and socioeconomic issues with the advent of COVID-19. Along with handwashing, social distancing, and the wearing of masks, vaccination was considered by medical authorities as a key way to curb the spread of the virus. One of the measures that have been proposed to increase vaccinations is the mandatory policy. The purpose of this study was to compare the determinants of voluntary and mandatory vaccination among students at Albanian University. Methodology: This cross-sectional study, conducted by means of an online survey, was conducted among students enrolled at the private Albanian University, Tirana, Albania during the last week of the winter semester, 7–14 February 2022. Results: In sum, 878 students participated in this study, among whom 612 (69.7%) were females and 266 (30%) were males. Of the participants, 506 (57%) were enrolled in medical science (MS) and 372 (42.3%) were in the non-medical science (Non-MS) group. A total of 773 (88%) were vaccinated against COVID-19, and 105 (11.8%) were not vaccinated. A total of 466 (53%) reported voluntary vaccination, and 412 (46.9%) reported mandatory vaccination. Among the students who were vaccinated voluntarily, 266 (57%) were from the MS group and 200 (42.9%) were from the Non-MS group. A total of 237 (57.5%) of students in the mandatory vaccination group were from the MS group, and 175 (42.4%) were from the Non-MS group. Conclusions: Vaccine safety and efficacy were hindering factors in vaccination. Additionally, based on the results of this study, the students felt encouraged by the academic staff to vaccinate. This clearly demonstrates that the staff does not lack the skills to enhance students’ knowledge about the risk of infectious diseases and the importance of vaccination. Therefore, to influence students’ attitudes as much as possible toward vaccination, comprehensive educational programs, including modifications of existing curricula, should be considered.

Introduction. Covid-19 faced the world with serious health and socioeconomic issues. At the very beginning of the pandemics, the vaccine was considered by health authorities and the medical community the only way to curb the spread of the virus. One of the measures that have been proposed to increase vaccinations was the mandatory policy. The purpose of this study was to compare determinants of voluntary and mandatory vaccination among students of Albanian University. Methodology: This cross-sectional study by means of an online survey, was conducted among students enrolled in the private University “Albanian University”, Tirana, Albania during the last week of winter semester 7-14 Feb 2022. Results: 878 students participated in this study, among them 612 (69.7%) were females, 266 (30%) were males. 506 (57%) of the participants were enrolled in Medical Sciences (MS), 372(42.3%) were Non-Medical Science (Non-MS) group. 773 (88%) was vaccinated against Covid-19, 105 (11.8%) were not vaccinated. 466 (53%) reported voluntary vaccination, 412 (46.9%) reported mandatory vaccination. Among students that vaccinated voluntary 266 (57%) were from MS group, 200(42.9%) from Non-MS group. 237(57.5%) of students in mandatory vaccination group were from MS group, 175 (42.4%) from Non-MS. Conlusion. Vaccine safety and efficacy were hindering factors of vaccination. Also, based on the results of this study, the students felt encouraged to vaccinate by the academic staff. This clearly demonstrates that the staff does not lack the skills to enhance stu-dents' knowledge about the risk of infectious diseases and the importance of vaccination. Therefore, to influence as much as possible students’ attitude toward vaccination, comprehensive educational programs including modification of existing curricula should be considered.

The aim of this cross-sectional epidemiological study was to explore the associations of age and occlusal factors with the severity of malocclusion among preschool children attending public kindergarten in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Clinical data regarding malocclusion traits were collected from October 2023-May 2024 by examining 3- to 6-year-old children who were frequenting 18 randomly selected public kindergartens in Tirana, Albania. A child presenting one of the following altered occlusal traits was recorded as having malocclusion: class II or III canine relationship, distal step (Ds), increased overjet (OVJ), deep overbite (OVB) > 50% or anterior open bite (AOB), cross bite (CB) either anterior (ACB) or posterior (PCB). The relationships between categorical variables were evaluated with the continuity correction test, Fisher’s exact test for 2 × 2 tables and the Pearson chi-square test forr×c tables. Binary logistic regression analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors affecting a child’s malocclusion severity. A total of 719 children aged 3–6 years (362 females and 357 males) with a mean age of 4.03 years who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. There were no differences in terms of age or sex. The OVJ frequency and incidence of deep OVB > 50% were 15.4%, and deep OVB was more common in the 4-year-old group. The incidence of AOB was 2.6%, which was greater among 5-year-old children. The multivariate regression analysis revealed that children in the 4-year-old group had a 1.62-fold greater risk of developing severe malocclusion (OR (95% CI):1.62 (1.05–2.50); p = 0.030). Those with increased OVJ had a 15.15-fold greater risk of developing more severe malocclusion (OR (95% CI):15.15 (5.87–39.09) p < 0.001). The results of this study demonstrate that an age of 4 years, increased OVJ, a class III canine relationship and primary second molars in Ds are factors associated with the severity of malocclusion among preschool children.