Background: Dental internships are a vital way for recent graduates of undergraduate dentistry courses to bridge the gap between study and clinical practice. Interns’ perceptions of dental internships have been explored in certain studies but the reality of the dental internship and dental interns’ practical performance has not been examined. Therefore, this study aims to explore the reality of the dental internship as a transitional stage after completion of an undergraduate course in dentistry. Methods: This qualitative research recruited 23 dental interns from Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Province. To explore the reality of dental internships, the research relied on a performative knowledge approach to examine interns’ practices and performance. Diaries and semi-structured interviews conducted virtually were used to gather data across three months. The data was then subject to thematic analysis that applied an inductive strategy. The data analysis’s credibility and trustworthiness were verified using triangulation techniques, an audit trail and member-checking. Results: Five key themes concerning dental interns’ practices were identified in this research: exploration, addressing knowledge gaps, responsibilities, decision-making and social connections. The most significant findings reveal that dental internships go beyond clinical work to include certain personal and social aspects that dental interns undertake during their internships. Conclusion: The findings of this research indicate that more real-world, practical knowledge should be integrated into the curricula of undergraduate dentistry programmes. In sum, this work highlights the need for holistic dental education that encompasses not only the clinical development of interns and students but also other elements such as their personal and social growth. Moreover, this research reveals that a performative knowledge approach can help researchers to identify significant findings regarding the practical experiences of dental interns. This study has implications for dentistry and any other medical speciality education programme that involves an internship.

Background: Research is an important part of dental education. While several quantitative studies have examined the barriers that undergraduate dental students face when conducting research, qualitative studies exploring the details and contexts of these barriers are rare. To bridge this gap, this research qualitatively explores the barriers faced by undergraduate dental students when conducting research. Methods: The present qualitative study employs what is known as the “performative knowledge strategy.” The 14 study participants were dental trainees included 10 undergraduate students and 4 interns who participated in research projects that were not part of their mandatory curriulum requirements. Diaries and semi-structured virtual (online) interviews were used to collect the data. Finally, using an inductive strategy, a thematic analytical approach was conducted to analyze the data. Results: Six key themes emerged from the data analysis. The themes of “inadequate knowledge,” “time constraints” and “lack of resources” confirm and align with the findings of previous studies, while the themes “misaligned schedules,” “delayed response” and “lack of orientation” represent new insights into the barriers to research faced by undergraduate dental students. Conclusion: This study identified six factors that posed substantial barriers to research by undergraduate dental students. Analysis of these barriers can lead to the design and implementation of strategies to enhance and improve research experience. Additional qualitative research in this area would help to reveal further details of the barriers to research, while additional quantitative studies are required to assess the frequency and trends of the newly revealed barriers. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Background: Fast food is being increasingly consumed in the modern world. This raises urgent questions about its impact on our health. There is a large body of research examining the factors contributing to fast food consumption but few studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia among university students. Moreover, there is almost a total lack of qualitative studies in this area to explore the details and contexts of these factors. This study aims to address this gap by conducting a qualitative investigation into the factors associated with fast food consumption in the daily lives of Saudi college students. Methods: The subjects of this qualitative study were 22 students from a university in Al Madinah Province, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Data was collected over 10 weeks through diary entries and semi-structured interviews, which were held virtually. Thematic analysis was then conducted on the data, with an inductive strategy used to identify emerging themes. Results: The factors previously found to contribute to fast food consumption, such as taste and convenience (time, effort, and money-saving qualities) were confirmed in this study. Moreover, the research found that the growing social narrative around fitness and health has led to a rise in the public’s concerns about health, which, in turn, has prompted many people to think again about their consumption of fast food. This study also reveals the effect of culture on fast food consumption, illuminating interesting perspectives on the lack of this consumption in various ritual and cultural situations. Conclusion: The results of this qualitative study reveal important findings about the contributing factors associated with fast food consumption among the under-researched study population of university students. The contributing factors identified are taste, convenience, health concerns, and cultural influences. By developing our understanding of these factors, such as the details of their contextuality and their impact on people’s eating behaviors, we can develop more effective public health interventions. Both health practitioners and policymakers can then use this comprehensive understanding of these factors to create interventions that respond to people’s cultural contexts and personal preferences, enhancing health outcomes for the public.

Background: Soft drink consumption is continuing to grow worldwide, posing an increasing threat to people’s health and general wellbeing. Consequently, we must understand the factors driving soft drink consumption to support improvements to nutrition. This paper adopts a qualitative research approach to explore individuals’ perceptions of the factors linked to daily soft drink consumption among university students in Saudi Arabia.Materials and methods: This research employed purposive sampling to recruit a total of 19 students attending university in Al Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia, all of whom reported that they had previously consumed soft drinks. Over 3 months, data was gathered through a mixture of online and in-person semi-structured interviews. Once completed, the interviews were then transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to identify the themes that emerged from the data.Results: This study reveals five core themes: taste, habit, price, environment and social context, and health concerns. Regarding health concerns, this study finds that the public’s increasing concerns about health can reduce people’s consumption of soft drinks. Significantly, this research reveals that the rise in health concerns among the public is being driven by the growing conversation about healthy food and the negative impact of consuming sugary soft drinks occurring in wider society.Conclusion: To conclude, this research underlines the value of adopting a holistic approach to promoting healthier drink choices (and thus reducing soft drink consumption). Interventions that focus on factors associated with soft drink consumption, such as habits, price, environment, social settings, health concerns, and taste, will be better able to decrease soft drink consumption and improve people’s nutritional intake.

This study aimed to assess the link between fast-food consumption and oral health outcomes as measured by the mean number of decayed, missing due to dental disease, or filled permanent teeth (DMFT) and teeth with untreated dental caries. This study utilized data obtained from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). The data used was collected from 11,288 participants aged 20 and above from 2015 to 2018. The frequency of fast-food consumption was divided into two groups: “less than two meals over the past seven days” and “two meals or more over the past seven days.” The mean number of DMFT and teeth with untreated dental caries were used to assess the participants’ oral health. The link between fast-food consumption and these mean values was explored using Poisson regression analysis, in which confounding variables such as income, race, age, and sex were adjusted for. After adjusting for these variables, the results revealed that individuals who reported consuming two or more fast-food meals during the preceding seven days had higher mean numbers of DMFT and teeth with untreated dental caries compared to those who consumed less than two fast-food meals during the same period (adjusted mean ratio = 1.05; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.10 and mean ratio = 1.22; 95 % CI 1.01–1.47, respectively). Conclusion: This study revealed a link between poor oral health outcomes and fast-food consumption. Consequently, public health officials must focus on fast-food settings and availability of high-sugar-content items. Interventions that target fast-food outlets and what they offer may have a positive impact on oral health.

Background: For dental graduates, internships are a vital transitional phase that gives them the invaluable opportunity to close the gap between their academic studies and the reality of professional dentistry. Research on dental internships remains limited and most of the existing studies focus on the clinical aspects of dental internships with little attention given to dental interns’ experiences overall. This study aims to bridge this gap in the literature by gaining an in-depth understanding of Saudi dental graduates’ range of experiences as dental interns. Methods: To achieve the research objective, this study adopted a qualitative approach. Using purposive and snowball sampling, the study recruited 23 dental interns from Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, who had completed at least nine months of their internship. Data was gathered across three months via diaries and virtual semi-structured interviews based on participants’ preferences. The data was then analysed thematically using an inductive analytical strategy. Results: The data analysis revealed three major themes and four sub-themes regarding the experiences of dental interns. The core three themes were “activities”, “autonomy” and “transitioning to a balanced life” whereby interns have the time and freedom to explore their interests, rekindle their social lives and focus on self-care, resulting in a better work-life balance. Conclusion: This study suggests that dental interns will benefit from the retention and strengthening of key internship activities such as research, community work and clinical rotations. Additionally, the experiences of dental interns can be improved by encouraging interns to progress in their clinical training with a high level of autonomy. Also, due to the limited research in this area, further studies are required to improve our understanding of the lived experiences of dental interns and dental internships in general.