Students are particularly vulnerable from the mental health aspect, which was especially recognized during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life (QoL) and mental health among dental students. The study was conducted on a sample of 797 students (207 male and 592 female) with an average age of 21.7 ± 2.4, from the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade. The measurements used in the study were the Demographic and Academic Questionnaire, Questionnaire about exposure to COVID-19, COVID-19-Impact on QoL Questionnaire (COV19-QoL), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The mean total score for COV19-QoL was 2.9 ± 0.9, while the diagnostic criteria of GAD-7 and depression met 19.9% and 31.4% of students, respectively. There was a positive and strong correlation between QoL, anxiety, and depression. During COVID-19, predictors for lower perceptions of QoL were female gender and death of close relatives (p = 0.049, p = 0.005, respectively). At the same time, predictors for GAD were female gender, living in dormitories, and death of close relatives (p = 0.019, p = 0.011, p = 0.028, respectively), while for depression they were year of study, living with parents, and death of close relatives due to COVID-19 (p = 0.012, p = 0.008, p = 0.029, respectively). The study showed that students’ QoL and mental health during the pandemic were at high risk.

One of the main objectives of contemporary dentistry is to preserve healthy tooth structure by applying techniques of noninvasive treatment. Air abrasion is a minimally invasive nonmechanical technique of tooth preparation that uses kinetic energy to remove carious tooth structure. A powerful narrow stream of moving aluminum-oxide particles hit the tooth surface and they abrade it without heat, vibration or noise. Variables that affect speed of cutting include air pressure, particle size, powder flow, tip?s size, angle and distance from the tooth. It has been proposed that air abrasion can be used to diagnose early occlusal-surface lesions and treat them with minimal tooth preparation using magnifier. Reported advantages of air abrasion include reduced noise, vibration and sensitivity. Air abrasion cavity preparations have more rounded internal contours than those prepared with straight burs. This may increase the longevity of placed restorations because it reduces the incidence of fractures and a consequence of decreased internal stresses. However, air abrasion cannot be used for all patients, i.e. in cases involving severe dust allergy, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, recent extraction or other oral surgery, open wounds, advanced periodontal disease, recent placement of orthodontic appliances and oral abrasions, or subgingival caries removal. Many of these conditions increase the risk of air embolism in the oral soft tissues. Dust control is a challenge, and it necessitates the use of rubber dam, high-volume evacuation, protective masks and safety eyewear for both the patient and the therapist.

Introduction/Objective. The aim of this paper is to point out the prevalence and severity of oral diseases in patients in the period before and after the transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells. Methods. MEDLINE literature search was done via PubMed. Results. The development and improvement of transplantation medicine in specialized centers lead to an increasing number of patients, both adults and children, with transplanted solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells. Despite the success of therapy, numerous changes and complications can be observed on other organs in patients undergoing transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells in the pre- and post-transplant phase. Systemic diseases and conditions related to organ and cell transplantation, which are accompanied by numerous oral manifestations. The most common oral changes are gingival enlargement, desquamation of the oral epithelium, very painful ulcerations, polypoid and granulomatous changes in the oral mucosa, hard dental tissues with frequent complications, developmental anomalies of teeth in younger children, and in the later stage also the occurrence of oral cancer. After transplantation of solid organs, hematopoietic changes in the oral cavity and other organs occur depending on the patient?s post-transplantation period as well as on the applied immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusion. Oral changes development before and after transplantation of solid organs and hematopoietic stem cells point to the importance of timely and competent cooperation between the dentist and the doctor who treats the underlying disease.