To evaluate the incidence of Schneiderian membrane perforation occurring during sinus lift surgery, and to investigate possible risk factors and associated complications. A systematic search for papers published between 1975 and 2015 was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Trip, Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. The quality assessment of each study was performed using the GRADE system. All extracted data were synthesized using either fixed or random effect models as indicated. Out of 1652 sinus lift surgeries reported in 12 studies, 388 membrane perforations occurred. The weighted incidence rate of perforation was 23.5% ranging from 3.6% to 41.8%. Both reduced membrane thickness and sinus septa increased the risk of perforation. The difference in the weighted implant survival rates between perforated and nonperforated side was not significant (P = 0.24). The use of piezoelectric instrumentation appears to reduce the perforation risk. With an incidence ratio of 1:4, membrane perforation is a common surgical complication during sinus lift surgery. We should keep in mind that appropriately handled and treated membrane perforation tends to show comparable implant survival when compared with intact membrane.

Objectives: To evaluate the epidemiological patterns of third molar impaction in a cohort of patients living in the north of Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study comprised of analysing 2550 Orthopantomograms (OPGs) belonging to patients who attended Aljouf University College of Dentistry between September 2013 and December 2015. OPGs were examined to determine the frequency of third molar impaction, their levels of eruption and angulations. Mixed effects logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate adjusted odds ratios. Data were weighted by age and sex based on population regional estimates.Results: 1551 patients (60.8%) with a mean age of 33.5 years-old (95%CI: 32.9 to 34) demonstrated 2650 impacted third molars. Third molars were more likely present in patients aged from 20 to 39 years-old (p<0.001); and in mandible more than maxilla (p<0.001). It showed highest vertical impaction and higher impaction rate in mandible than maxilla. Level A impaction was the most common among other levels by 1365 (53.5%). Vertical impaction was the most common pattern (1354 patients; 53.1%). Mesioangular impaction ranked second in mandible, while distoangular impaction ranked second in maxilla. There was no statistically significant difference between males and females concerning impaction frequency, depth levels and angulations.Conclusion: Impacted third molars is still a public health concern among youth and young adults. Vertically impacted mandibular third molars with their occlusal plane at the same level as the occlusal plane of adjacent tooth is the most prevalent pattern of third molar impaction in the northern region of Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of dental caries in patients with cleft lip and/or palate and their cleft-free sibling controls. Methods: The two subject groups (patient and control) comprised 106 participants. The former group consisted of 53 patients with cleft lip and/or palate, aged 12 to 29 years, who visited the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Hospital at Damascus University of Syria. The control group consisted of the patients’ siblings who had no clefts, and they were sex matched to the patient group. Dental caries were examined clinically and were reported using the decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index. The DMFT scores were compared between the two groups. Results: The author found an overall association of dental caries with the presence of cleft lip and/or palate (odds ratio = 2.52; 95% confidence interval = 1.389–4.574; p < .05). The DMFT index scores were proportionally higher in patients with cleft lip and/or palate compared with the control group (p < .001). Conclusion: Subjects with cleft lip and palate are susceptible to dental caries independently of socioeconomic status.

Purpose: The aim was to understand dental students’ experiences with oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) teaching, their confidence levels in performing routine dento-alveolar operations, and the relationship between the students’ confidence level and the number of teeth extracted during the clinical practice. Methods: The survey questionnaire was distributed to 32 students at Aljouf University College of Dentistry, Saudi Arabia during their fourth and fifth year in 2015. Respondents were asked to rate 19 items, which represent a student’s confidence in performing routine surgical interventions, using a four-point Likert scale (1=very little confidence, 4=very confident). A multivariate regression was computed between average confidence and the variables: weekly hours devoted to studying oral and maxillofacial surgery, college grade point average, and the total number of teeth extracted. Results: The response rate was 100%. Students revealed the highest level of confidence in giving local anesthesia (96.9%), understanding extraction indications (93.8%), and performing simple extractions (90.6%). Less confidence was shown with handling difficult extractions (50.0%), extracting molars with separation (50.0%) or extracting third molars (56.3%). The average confidence in performing surgical procedures was 2.88 (SD=0.55), ranging from 1.79 to 3.89. A given student’s confidence increased with an increase in the total number of teeth extracted (P=0.003). Conclusion: It reveals a significant impact of undergraduate clinical training on students’ confidence in performing oral and maxillofacial surgery clinical procedures: The more clinical experience the students had, the more confidence they reported.

Poor oral health is influenced by a variety of individual and structural factors. It disproportionately impacts socially marginalized people, and has implications for how one is perceived by others. This study assesses the degree to which residents of Canada's most populated province, Ontario, recognize income-related oral health inequalities and the degree to which Ontarians blame the poor for these differences in health, thus providing an indirect assessment of the potential for prejudicial treatment of the poor for having bad teeth. Data were used from a provincially representative survey conducted in Ontario, Canada in 2010 (n=2006). The survey asked participants questions about fifteen specific conditions (e.g. dental decay, heart disease, cancer) for which inequalities have been described in Ontario, and whether participants agreed or disagreed with various statements asserting blame for differences in health between social groups. Binary logistic regression was used to determine whether assertions of blame for differences in health are related to perceptions of oral health conditions. Oral health conditions are more commonly perceived as a problem of the poor when compared to other diseases and conditions. Among those who recognize that oral conditions more commonly affect the poor, particular socioeconomic and demographic characteristics predict the blaming of the poor for these differences in health, including sex, age, education, income, and political voting intention. Social and economic gradients exist in the recognition of, and blame for, oral health conditions among the poor, suggesting a potential for discrimination amongst socially marginalized groups relative to dental appearance. Expanding and improving programs that are targeted at improving the oral and dental health of the poor may create a context that mitigates discrimination.