Dentists could fail to notice periapical lesions (PLs) while examining panoramic radiographs. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) designed to address this problem. Materials and methods: a total of 18618 periapical root areas (PRA) on 713 panoramic radiographs were annotated and classified as having or not having PLs. An AI model consisting of two convolutional neural networks (CNNs), a detector and a classifier, was trained on the images. The detector localized PRAs using a bounding-box-based object detection model, while the classifier classified the extracted PRAs as PL or not-PL using a fine-tuned CNN. The classifier was trained and validated on a balanced subset of the original dataset that included 3249 PRAs, and tested on 707 PRAs. Results: the detector achieved an average precision of 74.95%, while the classifier accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 84%, 81% and 86%, respectively. When integrating both detection and classification models, the proposed method accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 84.6%, 72.2%, and 85.6%, respectively. Conclusion: a two-stage CNN model consisting of a detector and a classifier can successfully detect periapical lesions on panoramic radiographs.

The oral health of preschool children remains a concern globally. Kindergarten and school nurses can improve oral health by reducing the incidence of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) among children. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of kindergarten nurses about a proposed oral health promotion program to be implemented in primary health centres and kindergartens. The qualitative research used in-depth interviews of 12 kindergarten nurses who were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data analysis software was used (NVivo9 MANUF). Four major themes emerged and were analysed to explore contextual patterns within the data. The major themes included participants acknowledged the high prevalence of caries in children and identified several causes within the local context, including parental practices, poor dietary habits, the impact of cultural lack of oral health knowledge and limitations in the healthcare system. However, the study results’ themes also revealed complex barriers and enablers regarding the implementation of the program highlighting interpersonal, structural, systemic, and social elements. Kindergarten nurses maintained an affirmative attitude towards oral health promotion programs and were enthusiastic about initiating and supporting these programs. This qualitative study brought out critical socio-biological-cultural factors that influence the oral health promotion of preschool children.

Introduction: Antibiotic prescribing in general dental practice is common and may contribute to antimicrobial resistance. A scoping review was undertaken to map the existing literature on patterns of antibiotics prescriptions in general dental practice to gain a more focused understanding of prescribing behaviors of general dental practitioners (GDPs). Content: This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews. The review protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework. Eligibility criteria included original research studies which reported the antibiotic prescribing behaviors of GDPs and published between January 1990–February 2025. Scopus and PubMed were searched, followed by screening of the articles based on the eligibility criteria. A total of 2,076 records were retrieved following searches on PubMed and Scopus. Title and abstract screening were carried out for 215 articles, and 34 articles were considered for full text screening and finally 17 studies were included in the review. Antibiotics were prescribed for a wide range of conditions including cellulitis, abscesses, periapical infection, and periodontal conditions. Amoxicillin and amoxicillin with clavulanic acid were prescribed most commonly. Summary: The results highlight a disconnect between professional guidelines and prescribing practices of dentists. Dentists appear to prescribe antibiotics for clinical situations which may be managed better with operative interventions. Outlook: The review underscores the need to improve antibiotic stewardship in general dental practice settings to curb inappropriate antibiotic use and address the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance.