Introduction. Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is “a complex of eye and vision problems related to near work experienced during computer use.” It is one of the rising health concerns related to technology (cell phones and tablets) due to continuous use of computers among students. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of CVS, associated risk factors, and commonly associated symptoms and to assess the awareness and proper practice of using computers for studying. Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 651 undergraduate medical students in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. An electronic survey was conducted to collect the data. Data were analyzed using SPSS v21. The chi-square test (Fisher’s exact test when required) was used to study the significance of associations. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. High prevalence of CVS was observed, in which 95% (558) reported at least one symptom during studying using computers. Most frequently reported symptoms were excessive tearing and neck, shoulder, or back pain. Female students had a higher risk of CVS (P=0.003). Students who are myopic or hyperopic showed no association. Astigmatism was associated significantly with CVS (P=0.03). Using spectacles or contact lens showed no association. Students with dry eye disease revealed a significant association with CVS (P=0.01). The most significant risk factors related to the daily usage of computer were longer duration of studying (P<0.001), short distance from the screen (P<0.05), and high brightness of the screen (P<0.05). The most significant preventive measure taken to relieve the symptoms was applying the 20-20-20 rule. Conclusion. CVS is common among medical students; significant risk factors need to be addressed to reduce the symptom and to ensure a better productivity of work. It is a necessity to raise awareness among medical students regarding computer-related health problems.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of sweet taste perception on dietary habits in Saudi schoolchildren. In addition, the relationship between dietary habits and both caries and BMI was studied.Methods. A cross-sectional observational study comprising 225 schoolchildren aged 13–15 years from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was conducted. The consumption frequency of certain food items was analysed from a beverage and snack questionnaire and a three-day estimated dietary record was obtained. The sweet taste perception level was determined as sweet taste threshold (TT) and sweet taste preference (TP). Children were grouped into low, medium, and high, according to their sweet taste perception level. ICDAS and DMFS indices were used for caries registration and anthropometric measurements using BMI were collected.Results. Sweet taste perception was found to be negatively correlated to the number of main meals and positively correlated to both snack and sweet intake occasions. Statistically significant differences were found between the TT and TP groups with regard to the number of main meals and sweet intake (p≤0.01). No significant correlation between the dietary variables and caries or BMI was found.Conclusions. The dietary habits and sweet intake were found to be influenced by the sweet taste perception level, while the relation between the dietary habits and the caries and BMI was found insignificant.

Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers (Giloy) has been applied successfully as an anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and even as an anti-cancer agent. Yet, to date, the application of Giloy has not been explored concerning oral cancer. To assess the effect of T cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers (Giloy) extract (TcE) on an oral cancer cell line. AW13516 (oral cancer cell line) cells were treated with the prepared aqueous extract of TcE for 24 h at various concentrations ranging between 5 μg/ml and 100 μg/ml and compared with control (cells without treatment). Thee effect of the extracts on apoptosis was assessed by through Annexin V flow cytometry assay and Luminometry based assessment of Caspase 8, 9 and caspase 3/7 activity. RNA was isolated from treated cells and gene expression of selected metastatic genes (MMP1, MMP10, and CXCL8); epithelial-mesenchymal stem cell genes (TWIST1, SNAIL, ZEB1, Oct4) and stemness related genses (Nanog, Sox2) were analyzed by using a quantitative real-time PCR system. The experiments were performed in triplicates. Aqueous extract of TcE was found to induce apoptosis inducer in AW13516 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and was potent even at a low concentration of 5 μg/ml. The apoptosis induction was confirmed with the caspase activity assay. Treatment of the cells with the extract for 24 h exhibited a significant decrease in the expression of EMT genes in a dose-dependent manner without an effect on the metastatic genes. Aqueous extract of TcE induces apoptosis-mediated cell death in the oral cancer cell line AW13516 while attenuating its potential for epithelial mesenchymal transition.

Background: The use of artificial intelligence (AI), especially large language models (LLMs), is increasing in health care, including in dentistry. There has yet to be an assessment of the diagnostic performance of LLMs in oral medicine. Objective: We aimed to compare the effectiveness of ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Microsoft Copilot (integrated within the Microsoft 365 suite) with oral medicine consultants in formulating accurate differential and final diagnoses for oral lesions from written clinical scenarios. Methods: Fifty comprehensive clinical case scenarios including patient age, presenting complaint, history of the presenting complaint, medical history, allergies, intra- and extraoral findings, lesion description, and any additional information including laboratory investigations and specific clinical features were given to three oral medicine consultants, who were asked to formulate a differential diagnosis and a final diagnosis. Specific prompts for the same 50 cases were designed and input into ChatGPT and Copilot to formulate both differential and final diagnoses. The diagnostic accuracy was compared between the LLMs and oral medicine consultants. Results: ChatGPT exhibited the highest accuracy, providing the correct differential diagnoses in 37 of 50 cases (74%). There were no significant differences in the accuracy of providing the correct differential diagnoses between AI models and oral medicine consultants. ChatGPT was as accurate as consultants in making the final diagnoses, but Copilot was significantly less accurate than ChatGPT (P=.015) and one of the oral medicine consultants (P<.001) in providing the correct final diagnosis. Conclusions: ChatGPT and Copilot show promising performance for diagnosing oral medicine pathology in clinical case scenarios to assist dental practitioners. ChatGPT-4 and Copilot are still evolving, but even now, they might provide a significant advantage in the clinical setting as tools to help dental practitioners in their daily practice.

Several investigations evaluated the possibility of different types of mouth wash rinse in minimizing the SARS-CoV-2 load. However, results still controversial. The study aim is to assess the short-term efficiency of several over-the-counter mouth rinses and lozenges in minimizing the salivary viral load for SARS-CoV-2 in patients with confirmed COVID-19 in comparison to saline. This is a randomized controlled clinical trial with 4 arms. The recruited cases were randomized using a simple randomization technique and were assigned to chlorhexidine digluconate mouth rinse (CHX mouth rinse), 2 mg of chlorhexidine digluconate lozenges (CHX lozenges), povidone iodine mouth rinse (PVP-I mouth rinse) or saline as a control group. Saliva were collected from all study subjects by passive drool technique at two time points. First, prior to intervention with mouth rinse or the lozenges, the baseline saliva sample was collected. Second saliva samples were collected immediately after the mouth rinse. Real time PCR was conducted and the value threshold cycle (Ct) for each sample was recorded. Majority of the participants had an education level of high school or less (60%), were married (68.3), males (58.3%), and non-smokers (58.5%). No statistically significant differences between groups at the two times test (P > .05). However, a significant decrease of salivary viral load in all four groups combined (P-value for E genes = .027, and for S genes = .006), and in PVP-I mouth rinse specifically (P = .003 and P = .045, respectively). Povidone iodine mouth rinse showed a potential influence on the reduction of the viral load on a short-term basis. However, longer-term studies of the effect of these products should be conducted.

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial disease that is increasing worldwide and is caused by different environmental and genetic factors, with an increase in the consumption of high-energy–containing food and a decrease in physical activity constituting two of the main reasons. Sweet taste perception may have an effect on the subject’s dietary choices and affect his or her predisposition to obesity. Objectives: The aim was to study the sweet taste perception and dental caries in relation to body mass index (BMI) in 13–15-year-old schoolchildren from three different countries and to compare the BMI among the countries. Design: The sweet taste perception level, determined as the sweet taste threshold and preference, was assessed in a total of 669 schoolchildren from Italy, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, examined in school settings. Height and weight were collected and BMI was calculated, after which the children were grouped as underweight, normal, overweight, and obese. For caries registration, the International Caries Detection and Assessment System and Decayed Missing Filled Surfaces indices were used. Results: A statistically significant difference was found for BMI among the children from the three countries (p < 0.001), with the highest mean found among Saudi children, followed by Mexican and Italian children. A statistically significant difference regarding sweet taste threshold when comparing the BMI groups was only found for Saudi Arabia (p < 0.01). No significant correlation was found between BMI and sweet taste threshold or preference and dental caries variables, respectively. Conclusions: BMI was found to differ between countries, with a further significant difference among the groups among the Saudi Arabia schoolchildren.