Introduction. This study aimed to investigate dental students’ clinical reasoning and diagnostic thinking ability by key feature test and “diagnostic thinking inventory” questionnaire. Methods. The present study was a descriptive cross‐sectional study. The participants consisted of 61 senior dental students. Clinical reasoning and diagnostic thinking were assessed by key feature tests and the “diagnostic thinking inventory” “DTI” questionnaire, respectively. The “diagnostic thinking inventory” was developed by Bordage et al. in France and consisted of 41 questions on a 6‐point Likert scale. The satisfaction of students was assessed through a 10‐item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19 with descriptive tests (mean, SD, and percentage), student independent T‐test, and Pearson correlation. The significance level was determined at p < 0.05. Results. The mean scores of the key feature test were 56.55 ± 7.80. Diagnostic thinking scores of learners were reported in diagnostic thinking 136.47 ± 16.45, flexibility in thinking 72.22 ± 11.15, and structure of memory 64.24 ± 7.84. The difference in students’ scores in flexibility in thinking was significantly higher among male students than female students. (p‐value = 0.04). The students’ satisfaction scores were 3.53 ± 0.52, which showed relative satisfaction. Conclusion. The participants’ clinical reasoning and diagnostic thinking skills were reported at a low level. This issue emphasizes the need for training to enhance diagnostic thinking and clinical reasoning in dental education. Formative evaluation and reform of the educational programs of this course should be considered.

Background: Mandibular premolars are of the most difficult teeth to treat endodontically. Aims: To compare the root canal morphology of mandibular premolars between two genders in an Iranian population. Settings and Design: Totally, 230 cone-beam computed tomography images of the mandibles belonged to 115 males and 115 females were evaluated in the three spatial planes. Materials and Methods: The total number of roots and canals in the mandibular premolars was counted, and the difference between males and females were analyzed. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed using Chi-square test. The significance level was set as P < 0.05. Results: The majority of mandibular first and second premolars had one root (85.7% and 94.8%, respectively) and one canal (63.9% and 78.3%, respectively). The number of roots in the mandibular first premolars had statistically significant difference between two genders (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference between two genders in the number of roots (P = 0.208) and canals (P = 0.498) in the mandibular second premolars. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the root canal morphology in the mandibular first premolars had statistically significant difference between two genders.

BACKGROUND:The frequent anatomical variations of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) course should be considered prior to any treatment in this area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the course of the inferior alveolar canal (IAC) as it appears in...

Background: Physical characteristics including body size and configuration, are considered as one of the key influences on the optimum performance in athletes. Despite several analyzing methods for modeling the slimming estimation in terms of reduction in anthropometric indices, there are still weaknesses of these models such as being very demanding including time taken for analysis and accuracy. Objective: This research proposes a novel approach for determining the slimming effect of a herbal composition as a natural medicine for weight loss. Methods: To build an effective prediction model, a modern hybrid approach, merging adaptivenetwork- based fuzzy inference system and particle swarm optimization (ANFIS-PSO) was constructed for prediction of changes in anthropometric indices including waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, thigh circumference and mid-upper arm circumference, on female athletes after consumption of caraway extract during ninety days clinical trial. Results: The outcomes showed that caraway extract intake was effective on lowering all anthropometric indices in female athletes after ninety days trial. The results of analysis by ANFIS-PSO was more accurate compared to SPSS. Also, the efficiency of the proposed approach was confirmed using the existing data. Conclusion: It is concluded that a development in predictive accuracy and simplification capability could be attained by hybrid adaptive neuro-fuzzy techniques as modern approaches in detecting changes in body characteristics. These developed techniques could be more useful and valid than other conventional analytical methods for clinical applications.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the effect of root canal preparation size and taper on the amounts of glucose penetration. For conducting this experimental study, eighty mandibular premolars with single straight canals were divided randomly into 2 experimental groups of 30 samples each and 2 control groups. Using K-files and the balance force technique, canals in group 1 were prepared apically to size 25 and coronally to size 2 Peesoreamer. Group 2 were instrumented apically and coronally to size 40 and size 6 Peesoreamer, respectively. Rotary instrumentation was accomplished in group 1; using size 25 and .04 tapered and in group 2, size 35 and .06 tapered Flex Master files. Canals were then obturated by lateral compaction of cold gutta-percha. Glucose penetration through root canal fillings was measured at 1, 8, 15, 22 and 30 days. Data were recorded as mmol/L and statistically analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test (P value=. 05). In comparison to group 1, group 2 showed significant glucose leakage during the experimental period (P value < .0001). Also, in each experimental group, the amount of micro-leakage was significantly increased at the end of the study. Under the condition of this study, the amounts of micro-leakage through root canal fillings are directly related to the size and taper of root canal preparation and reducing the preparation size may lead to less micro-leakage. Key words:Dental leakage, root canal preparation, endodontics.