One of the most common oral diseases affecting people wearing dentures is chronic atrophic candidiasis or denture stomatitis (DS). The aim of the paper is to provide an update on the pathogenesis, presentation, and management of DS in general dental practice settings. A comprehensive review of the literature published in the last ten years was undertaken using multiple databases, including PubMed via MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus. The eligible articles were analyzed to identify evidence-based strategies for the management of DS. Despite its multifactorial nature, the leading cause of DS is the development of oral Candida albicans biofilm, which is facilitated by poor oral and denture hygiene, long-term denture wear, ill-fitting dentures, and the porosity of the acrylic resin in the dentures. DS affects between 17 and 75% of the population wearing dentures, with a slight predominance in elderly females. The mucosal denture surfaces and posterior tongue are the common sites of DS, and the affected areas exhibit erythema, the swelling of the palatal mucosa and edema. Oral and denture hygiene protocols, adjusting or re-fabricating poorly adapting dentures, smoking cessation, avoiding nocturnal denture wear, and the administration of topical or systemic antifungals are the mainstay of management. Alternate treatments such as microwave disinfection, phytomedicine, photodynamic therapy, and incorporation of antifungals and nanoparticles into denture resins are being evaluated for the treatment of DS but require further evidence before routine use in clinical practice. In summary, DS is the most common oral inflammatory lesion experienced by denture wearers. Most patients with DS can be managed in general dental practice settings. Effective management by general dental practitioners may be supported by a thorough understanding of the pathogenesis, the recognition of the clinical presentation, and an awareness of contemporary treatment strategies.

We aimed to evaluate the impact of Virtual Reality Dental Simulators (VRDS) on preclinical training in endodontics for undergraduate dental students. Purposive sampling technique was used to target undergraduate dental students at two dental schools: in Qatar and Turkey. After training on endodontic access cavity preparation on upper anterior teeth using acrylic teeth on dental mannequins and virtual reality haptic dental simulator, a questionnaire based on a combination of open- and closed-ended items was distributed to the participants. The sample included 60 dental undergraduate students. The participants reported positive experiences with VRDS and 76% considered it to be helpful in improving their fine motor skills. Endodontic access cavity preparation on VRDS was perceived to be similar to natural and acrylic teeth by 73.34% and 53% of participants, respectively. Overall, 85% of participants supported the use of VRDS training to supplement conventional training on dental mannequins but also recommended the need for improvements in VRDS training in endodontics. The findings of this study underscore the benefits of VRDS in endodontics. Future research involving larger samples from multiple institutions may help to optimize VRDS in undergraduate dental education.

Oral health self-efficacy is a fundamental determinant of behavioral changes among elderly patients. Objective: To assess the oral self-efficacy among the Saudi population aged 65 years old and above in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted on elderly individuals in Riyadh. An Arabic version of the Geriatric Self-Efficacy Scale for Oral Health (GSEOH) was administered to all participants. The dependent variables included oral function, oral hygiene habits, and dental visits. For the statistical analysis, two independent sample t-tests and a one-way ANOVA test were used. Significance was judged at a p-value less than 0.05. Results: Of 400 participants recruited, 53% were males. About 58% had retained teeth, and 72% had visited a dentist in the past 12 months. Overall, 31.6%, 34.64%, 22.65%, and 11.14% of the participants rated their oral health as good, fairly good, rather poor, and poor, respectively. Age (p < 0.001), educational level (p < 0.001), and working status (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with GSEOH scores. Other sociodemographic characteristics were not found to affect the GSEOH scores. Conclusions: The overall self-efficacy of oral health among Saudi elderly individuals is fairly good. Age, educational level, and occupational status are the main determinants of oral health self-efficacy scores.

Oral health of preschool children remains a concern globally. Primary healthcare providers are in a vital position to support preventive oral care programmes. This study explored current practices, perception and barriers of primary health care professionals towards oral health promotion program of children in Qatar. The qualitative research used focus group discussions and interviewed a total of 108 participants that were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Four major themes emerged and were analysed to explore contextual patterns within the data. Participants acknowledged the high prevalence of caries in children and identified the causes in the local context which included parental practices, poor dietary habits, impact of culture lack of oral health knowledge, limitations in the healthcare system, and negative role of the media. However, complex barriers were exposed, including lack of time and ownership, system coordination between organizations, and lack of policy. Health professionals and bureaucrats involved in decision-making held a positive attitude towards oral health prevention programs and were enthusiastic to initiate and support these programs.

Poor oral health, especially dental caries in early childhood is a major public health concern. Parental oral health knowledge, behavior, and perceptions are important elements in determining the child’s oral health status. The aim of the study was to investigate the perceptions of mothers of preschool children in Qatar towards their children’s oral health and their experiences with oral health services provided to children. The study is based on qualitative methods using focus groups. Purposive sampling was used to recruit mothers of preschool children at two kindergartens in the city of Doha, Qatar. The focus group consisted of a series of open-ended questions about the oral health of children and the opinion of mothers towards the current oral health services provided in the country. An inductive thematic content analysis at the statement level approach was used to analyze the qualitative data. Twelve mothers between the ages of 20 and 41 years old from two kindergartens participated in two separate focus groups. The average number of children per mother was 5 with 45 months being the mean age of children. Several themes emerged from analyzing the data retrieved from the discussion with mothers. For oral health knowledge, mothers demonstrated a different level of oral health knowledge, from good to poor. As for experiences with health services, recognized the value of oral health services in Qatar but expressed difficulties in access to oral health services for their children with almost all having had some negative experiences. Regarding the anticipated role of mothers in the oral health of their children, mothers were very positive about their potential role in supporting their children’s oral health. The mothers also gave recommendations to improve oral health services for young children. Mothers showed positive attitudes towards the oral health of their children and they recognized the importance of a good oral health care system.

Background: Natural language understanding (NLU), a subfield of artificial intelligence, focuses on the computational understanding of human language. This technology offers an objective and quantitative approach to analysing interviews in qualitative research. This study hypothesises that NLU can assess the impact of oral health on quality of life by analysing semi‐structured interviews.Objective: This study aimed to assess the utility of NLU in evaluating oral health‐related quality of life by analysing semi‐structured interviews with individuals diagnosed with hypodontia.Methods: A cross‐sectional qualitative study was conducted on 10 participants (aged 16–25 years) suffering from hypodontia. Semi‐structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using IBM Watson NLU text analysis. The analysis identified entities, keywords, sentiments (positive and negative) and emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear and disgust) expressed in the interviews.Results: NLU analysis revealed a predominantly negative sentiment towards hypodontia and its management, with 93.2% of identified entities presenting a negative sentiment and only 6.8% showing a positive sentiment. Patient sentiment correlated inversely with age (R = −0.49), treatment waiting time (R = −0.22) and OHIP score (R = −20). Negative sentiments and sadness were most prominent when discussing the history of dental problems and feelings about their teeth, whereas joy and positive sentiments were expressed regarding successful dental work. Keywords associated with negative sentiment were primarily related to treatment length and delays.Conclusion: NLU effectively identified patients' negative sentiments and emotional responses to oral health conditions, demonstrating its potential as a valuable tool in qualitative dental research.