This paper reviews the literature and discusses the latest updates on the use of pit and fissure sealants. It demonstrates the effectiveness of pit and fissure sealants in preventing caries and the management of early carious lesions. It compares the use of different sealant materials and their indications. It describes the application technique for sealants. It also reviews the cost-effectiveness of sealants as a preventive strategy. From this review and after the discussion of recently published studies on pit and fissure sealants, it is evident that sealants are effective in caries prevention and in preventing the progression of incipient lesions. It is therefore recommended that pit and fissure sealant be applied to high-caries-risk children for optimum cost-effectiveness. It is a highly sensitive technique that needs optimum isolation, cleaning of the tooth surface, etching, and the application of a thin bonding layer for maximum benefit. Recall and repair, when needed, are important to maximize the effectiveness of such sealant use.

This study aims to translate a previously published English language questionnaire that assessed pain and discomfort after the extraction of primary teeth in children into Arabic, and evaluate its validity and reliability. All participating children (n = 120), aged 9 to 12-years-old, completed the 33-item Arabic version questionnaire after the extraction procedure had taken place. The questionnaire included three parts that were completed at three different times, namely, immediately, the first evening, and one week after the extraction procedure. Internal consistency, content validity, criterion validity, and factor analysis were performed. The results showed a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83), acceptable criterion validity with a significantly strong correlation with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and satisfactory content validity (average content validity index (CVI = 0.90). The final factor model was comprised of four factors with an eigenvalue greater than 1, explaining 70% of the common variance. The identified factors were labeled as follows: Factor 1—analgesic consumption; Factor 2—expression of discomfort from the extraction site; Factor 3—perception of masticatory capability; and Factor 4—pain/discomfort from the dental extraction procedure. Based on the results, a shorter form of the questionnaire had satisfactory psychometric characteristics and can be used with children within the selected age group.

Compulsive exercise is a condition characterized by uncontrollable exercise behaviour that may lead to severe and harmful physical and psychological consequences. Indeed, compulsive exercise is among the early symptoms of eating disorders that may affect different age groups. Globally and among Arab countries, compulsive exercise is common, while the screening methods used to assess compulsive exercise are limited. Thus, the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) has emerged as a tool to assess cognitive, behavioural, and emotional factors related to compulsive exercise. The CET is a self-report, Likert-type scale comprising five distinct subscales. The increase in the CET scores is more likely associated with worsened pathology. Since the Arab countries lack such an assessment tool, we aimed to translate the CET into Arabic, validate the translated version, confirm the factor structures, and assess the internal consistency of the different subscales. Herein, we used the forward–backward translation method as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The overall validity index of the translated version showed a score higher than 0.78, while the scale-level content validity index based on the average calculating method (S-CVI/Ave) and the agreement method (S-CVI/UA) were 0.91 and 0.58, respectively. Moreover, we recruited 399 Arabs living in Saudi to measure the internal consistency, and the value of the substantive internal consistency with Cronbach’s α was 0.81. Subsequently, four of the Arabic-CET subscales had substantive internal consistency with Cronbach’s α values higher than or equal to 0.70. Furthermore, the exploratory factor analysis results supported the substantial use of the five-subscale model. Taken together, our study supports using the Arabic-CET version to measure exercise compulsiveness among Arabs.

Objective:To evaluate parental awareness regarding space maintainers in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia, and examine variations in awareness based on parental sex and educational level.