Mohammad H. Al-Shayyab

The Mental Foramen I: Radiographic Study of the Anterior-Posterior Position and Shape in Iraqi Population

Informacion precisa sobre la ubicacion horizontal y forma del foramen mental puede tener importancia clinica en la reduccion de complicaciones durante procedimientos quirurgicos maxilofaciales que involucran el area mental. Fueron reportadas variaciones geograficas en relacion a estas variables. El objetivo fue estudiar la posicion horizontal y forma del foramen mental, a partir de 518 radiografias panoramicas de una muestra aleatoria en sujetos de Irak (257 varones, 261 mujeres; edad media= 46,5 anos), quienes fueron evaluados con respecto a la posicion horizontal, forma y la simetria de los foramenes mentales. En individuos de edad avanzada se encontro una asociacion con un aumento en la frecuencia de un posicionamiento posterior y con forma irregular. La posicion horizontal y forma del foramen fueron asimetricos en 21,6% y 31,6% de los casos, respectivamente. La diferencia hallada en relacion a la simetria en posicion horizontal y forma de los foramenes mentales fue estadisticamente significativa entre sexos (p=0,041), y entre los grupos de edad jovenes y mayores (P=0,001), respectivamente. Se encontro con mayor frecuencia la posicion horizontal entre los ejes longitudinales de los dos premolares mandibulares, y la forma circular, en relacion a la posicion antero-posterior y forma del foramen, respectivamente. Estos fueron resultados similares a estudios anteriores sobre otras poblaciones. Los foramenes mentales son simetricos, respecto a su ubicacion horizontal y su forma.

Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Among Dental Practitioners: Prevalence and Health Perceptions

Background Waterpipe tobacco smoking prevalence, practice, and the associated health perceptions among dental practitioners have not been previously reported. This study aims to determine the prevalence of waterpipe smoking among dental practitioners and to evaluate their awareness of health hazards of waterpipe smoking, particularly the adverse effects on oral health. Methods This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey among dental practitioners. Surveyed dental practitioners practiced dentistry in the holy city of Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, a city in the Central-Western Region of Saudi Arabia, and the study was conducted during March 2015. The questionnaire consisted of questions on demographic data, history and practices of tobacco use, and perceptions toward the health hazards of smoking. Dentists were approached at their work places and invited to participate. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the samples demographic and smoking characteristics, while cross-tabulation and chi-square test were used to determine the statistical significance of association between the groups (P ≤ 0.05). Results One hundred dental practitioners participated in the survey, with 55 males and 45 females. Twenty-six percent indicated that they were water-pipe smokers. Male gender and cigarette smoking were the only factors to be significantly associated with waterpipe smoking (P = 0.008 and P = 0.000, respectively). Most participants stated that waterpipe smoking is harmful to health, and the most commonly reported health hazard was respiratory disease, which was reported by 81% of participants. Conclusions Prevalence of waterpipe smoking among dental practitioners is comparable to adult populations but lower than younger populations of university students. Health awareness of dental practitioners regarding waterpipe smoking was judged to be insufficient.

The Mental Foramen II: Radiographic Study of the Superior-Inferior Position, Appearance and Accessory Foramina in Iraqi Population

La informacion precisa acerca de la localizacion vertical, apariencia del foramen mental y la presencia de foramenes accesorios, puede tener importancia clinica, como la reduccion de las complicaciones que pueden ocurrir durante muchos procedimientos quirurgicos orales relacionados con el menton. Las variaciones geograficas fueron reportadas en estas variables. El objetivo fue evaluar las variables anteriormente mencionadas en una muestra iraqui. Fueron evaluadas 518 radiografias panoramicas de una muestra aleatoria de Irak (257 varones, 261 mujeres, edad media = 46,5 anos) con respecto a las variables antes mencionadas, asi como la simetria del foramen con respecto a estas variables. El area por debajo de los apices de los premolares mandibulares y el tipo continuo, fueron la localizacion vertical y apariencia del foramen mental mas frecuentes, respectivamente. La edad avanzada se asocio con un aumento en la frecuencia de posicionamiento mas inferior y de apariencia continua. La localizacion vertical y la apariencia fueron asimetricas en 16,2 % y 20,1 % de los casos, respectivamente. La simetria en la localizacion vertical fue estadisticamente significativa entre sexos (p= 0,035), y entre jovenes y viejos (P= 0,000). La simetria en apariencia solo fue estadisticamente significativa (p= 0,025) entre los dos grupos de edad. Se registro presencia de foramenes accesorios en un 7,3 % de los casos. La localizacion vertical del foramen mental mas comun en las radiografias panoramicas de este grupo estan por debajo de los apices de los premolares mandibulares, y respecto a la apariencia, el tipo continuo fue el mas comun. Esto esta en coherencia con los resultados de estudios anteriores en otras poblaciones. Los foramenes mentales tienen una localizacion vertical y apariencia que suelen ser simetricas. Los foramenes accesorios se registran en un porcentaje inferior al informado recientemente en algunos paises de la region.

Sublingual varices in relation to smoking, cardiovascular diseases, denture wearing, and consuming vitamin rich foods

Objectives: To identify potential risk factors such as smoking, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), denture wearing, and consuming vitamin rich foods, and its relation to the development of sublingual varices (SLV). Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted on patients who attended the Department of Dentistry at The University of Jordan Hospital, Amman, Jordan between February and May 2013. Clinical examinations and inspections of 391 patients (203 males and 188 females), 13-74 years of age were conducted to determine the presence of SLV. Sublingual varices were classified into 2 categories: grade 0 (few or none visible), and grade one (moderate or severe). Frequency distributions of both SLV and risk factors were obtained. Multiple logistic regression analysis and Chi-square test were used to analyze the influence of individual risk factors on the incidence of SLV. Results: There were 88 subjects (22.5%) who had SLV. In the multivariate logistic regression model, SLV were significantly associated with age (odds ratio [OR]: 2.27, p=0.008) with highest occurrences in the eighth decade of life, gender (OR: 2.74, p=0.001), smoking (OR: 2.93, p=0.002), denture wearing (OR: 2.03, p=0.044), and CVD (OR: 4.01, p=0.00). Conclusion: The presence of SLV could be indicative of some potential risk factors including old age, female gender, and denture wearing, and may alert the dental clinician to recognize underlying systemic conditions, particularly CVD.

Efficacy of intraligamentary anesthesia in maxillary first molar extraction

Introduction Infiltration anesthesia (IA) is the method to anaesthetize maxillary teeth successfully. In contrast, intraligamentary anesthesia (ILA) has been used as supplementary anesthesia during tooth extraction, particularly when regional block anesthesia has failed. In this study, we compare the efficacy of and patient satisfaction with ILA vs IA when extracting maxillary first molar teeth. Methods Forty patients were enrolled in this study and 80 maxillary first molars extracted. All patients served as their own control, with ILA as the experimental side and IA as the control side. The two techniques were compared for efficacy using a visual analog scale (VAS) and patient satisfaction compared using a verbal rating scale (VRS). Results The mean VAS pain score for extraction using ILA was lower than that for IA (20.30±3.18 and 13.93±1.95 mm, respectively; P<0.001). For injection pain, the mean VAS pain score in the ILA side was higher than the IA side (42.28±4.51 and 31.73±3.1 mm, respectively; P<0.001). VRS results showed a higher number of patients who felt that pain during ILA was greater than expected compared with IA. Conclusion IA appears less painful during injection compared with ILA, and provides sufficient pain relief during extraction. However, ILA can be used when IA fails to achieve the desired pain suppression, as it provides higher extraction-pain relief.

Periodontal ligament injection versus routine local infiltration for nonsurgical single posterior maxillary permanent tooth extraction: comparative double-blinded randomized clinical study

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of, and patients’ subjective responses to, periodontal ligament (PDL) anesthetic injection compared to traditional local-anesthetic infiltration injection for the nonsurgical extraction of one posterior maxillary permanent tooth. Materials and methods All patients scheduled for nonsurgical symmetrical maxillary posterior permanent tooth extraction in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Jordan Hospital, Amman, Jordan over a 7-month period were invited to participate in this prospective randomized double-blinded split-mouth study. Every patient received the recommended volume of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for PDL injection on the experimental side and for local infiltration on the control side. A visual analog scale (VAS) and verbal rating scale (VRS) were used to describe pain felt during injection and extraction, respectively. Statistical significance was based on probability values <0.05 and measured using χ2 and Student t-tests and nonparametric Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Results Of the 73 patients eligible for this study, 55 met the inclusion criteria: 32 males and 23 females, with a mean age of 34.87±14.93 years. Differences in VAS scores and VRS data between the two techniques were statistically significant (P<0.001) and in favor of the infiltration injection. Conclusion The PDL injection may not be the alternative anesthetic technique of choice to routine local infiltration for the nonsurgical extraction of one posterior maxillary permanent tooth.

Factors affecting oral health determinants in female university students: a cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia

Abstract Objective This study aims at investigating factors affecting oral health patterns, attitudes and health risk behaviors among female university students. Methods An online questionnaire was distributed to female university students in Al Madinah in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Students were requested to answer questions on demographic data, oral hygiene practices, dental attendance, smoking history, practice of sports and body weight and height. Results Two hundred and fourteen students participated with age range of 18–31 years (mean = 21.64 ± 1.72 years). Oral hygiene habits were reported by a percentage of 97.2%, 34.6%, 30.8% and 19.2% who used a tooth brush, dental floss, mouthwash, and a miswak (a teeth cleaning twig made from the Salvadora persica tree), respectively. The only factor that was significantly associated with a good oral hygiene level was a university major of non-healthcare specialties (p = 0.009). Conclusion It is concluded that female university students use various oral hygiene methods, however, dental attendance is poor and a number of health risk factors are noticed like smoking, lack of practicing sport and unhealthy body mass index (BMI).