COVID-19 pandemic has caused a profound effect on the public mental health around the world. Fear and anxiety of this new disease and uncertainties about the future has led to stress to the society and especially to university students. The objective of this study is to assess depression, anxiety, and stress level experienced by dental students of the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) during the first period of Movement Control Order (MCO) by Malaysia government. A Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was distributed online to all USIM’s dental students to assess their psychological impact and mental health status. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics of the respondents. A total of 175 students were involved in this study. Majority of the respondents are female (79.4%), first year dental students (25.7%) and were staying at home with their family (94.9%) in the midst of the outbreak. Overall, the depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) scores were normal. However, the proportion of student’s anxiety level was apparently higher than depression and stress. A significant finding showed that students who stayed at home were more anxious than those who stayed at hostel (p=0.035). Pandemic COVID-19 lockdown had impacted the psychological state of the USIM’s dental students mainly on their anxiety level. Mental health among the students should be carefully monitored by the university particularly at the faculty level to prevent further mental breakdown.

The restorative materials should have the ability to with stand challenging environment such as an acidic environment as the restorative material may be subjected to erosive attack from the low pH of acidic beverages in the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Malaysian fruit juices on the surface roughness. Forty disc shape samples were prepared for each of selected tooth coloured restoration (composite, GIC, RMGIC). The surface roughness before immersion was taken then the samples were immersed in the following storage media: distilled water, pineapple juice, mango juice, and tamarind juice. After time intervals of 1 day, the surface roughness was determined for each individual sample using profilometer. Differences were analysed using SPSS version 21. The results showed all materials were found to have increase in the surface roughness after immersion in the juices. The tamarind juices were shown to pose a greater erosive threat to tooth coloured materials than pineapple and mango. Composite showed to have the highest mean changes is surface roughness compared to GIC and RMGIC. In conclusion, the acidic juices affected the surface roughness of the selected tooth coloured restoration.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused series of lockdown in Malaysia which led to the significant financial impact to dental practitioner in Malaysia. Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate factors affecting dental practice and its implication to financial situation during the pandemic in Malaysia. Methods: Registered Malaysian dental practitioners were invited to participate in online questionnaire via google form. Descriptive and Pearson’s chi-square test analysis were conducted (p<0.05). Results: 468 of dental practitioners had responded to our survey. More than three-quarter of dental practitioners worked in government sectors while almost a quarter worked in private sectors. 49.2% of respondents opened for emergency cases only during movement control order (MCO), 42.1 % of them limit for dental emergency, appointment-based cases and non-aerosol generated procedure during Conditional MCO and 62.5% operated as usual following a strict standard operating procedure during Recovery MCO. More than three quarter of private dental practitioners indicated that pandemic affected their daily monetary income (p<0.001) while most of them had to spend other source of income (p=0.004). All working sectors dictated that the working volume and number of patients had statistically decrease (p<0.05). Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the practice of dentistry and financial position especially for private dental practitioners. Major government assistance is important to reduce the burden of dental practitioner and preserving their future practice.

Background and Objectives: Every dental student has his/her own learning style. As dental educators, it is mandatory to identify the fact that each individual student may have an inclination of obtaining knowledge and skill in one style over another. The aim of the present study was to determine the learning style preferences of dental students using the Visual, Aural, Read, Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Materials and Methods: The VARK questionnaire was distributed to determine the student's preferred mode of learning. Completed questionnaires were scored and tabulated to determine the distribution of VARK preferences. Results: A total of 156 (89%) questionnaires were returned for further analysis. Majority of students have preferred a quad modal style of learning. Whilst only 6.5% from year 1, 5.7% from year 4 and 10% from year 5 who preferred a trimodal. Conclusion: The dental students in this study had varied learning preferences. As dental educators, we need to adopt different methods of teaching in order to reach most of the students and make the educational experience more productive. Keywords: Dental, Learning Preferences, Students

Introduction: A few studies investigated the numerous potential endodontic uses of CBCT, including the examination of root canal morphology and presumed that CBCT was effective for the initial identification of such morphology; moreover CBCT is a reliable method for the detection of the MB2 canal when compared with the gold standard of physical sectioning of the specimen. The aim of this study was to identify the root and canal morphology of the maxillary first molars among Malaysians analysed by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Materials and Methods: Maxillary first (n = 421) molars from Malaysian patients (n = 241) of Malay, Chinese and Indians inceptions were examined by two Endodontists using in vivo CBCT methods. The number and configuration of roots, the number of root canals, and the canal configuration according to Vertucci’s classification were determined. Results: Single roots were not found in maxillary first molars. The incidence of fused roots was 1.995% in the first molars between mesiobuccal and distobuccal roots. In (421) 3-rooted maxillary first molars, additional canals were found in 45.6% of the mesiobuccal (MB) roots and 0% of the distobuccal (DB) roots. Bilateral symmetry of the MB roots was found in 82.36% of the first molar. Only one tooth was found to have pulp stone inside the pulp chamber. Conclusions: The root and canal configuration of a Malaysian population showed different features from those of other populations. CBCT scans can enhance the understanding of root canal anatomy, with the potential of improving the outcome of endodontic treatment.

Introduction: A few studies investigated the numerous potential endodontic uses of CBCT, including the examination of root canal morphology and presumed that CBCT was effective for the initial identification of such morphology; moreover CBCT is a reliable method for the detection of the MB2 canal when compared with the gold standard of physical sectioning of the specimen. The aim of this study was to identify the root and canal morphology of the maxillary first molars among Malaysians analysed by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Materials and Methods: Maxillary first (n = 421) molars from Malaysian patients (n = 241) of Malay, Chinese and Indians inceptions were examined by two Endodontists using in vivo CBCT methods. The number and configuration of roots, the number of root canals, and the canal configuration according to Vertucci's classification were determined. Results: Single roots were not found in maxillary first molars. The incidence of fused roots was 1.995% in the first molars between mesiobuccal and distobuccal roots. In (421) 3-rooted maxillary first molars, additional canals were found in 45.6% of the mesiobuccal (MB) roots and 0% of the distobuccal (DB) roots. Bilateral symmetry of the MB roots was found in 82.36% of the first molar. Only one tooth was found to have pulp stone inside the pulp chamber. Conclusions: The root and canal configuration of a Malaysian population showed different features from those of other populations. CBCT scans can enhance the understanding of root canal anatomy, with the potential of improving the outcome of endodontic treatment.

Introduction: Oral health literacy is an essential element of an individual to make better oral health decision. Low oral health literacy (OHL) is associated with poor oral health decision and outcome. This study aimed to determine factors associated with oral health literacy among undergraduate students in one of the public universities of Malaysia. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was undertaken among the undergraduate students of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). Sample selection was done randomly. A validated oral health literacy index of Malay version was used throughout the study. Ethical approval was obtained from the University Research Ethics Committee and respondents had given their consent prior to the data collection. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS software version 24.0 and the significant level was set at p< 0.05. Results: The mean oral health literacy of the university undergraduate students was 77.7 (95% CI= 76.75, 78.71). Multiple linear regression indicated that female has higher OHL (?= 4.19; 95% CI= 1.99, 6.39; p< 0.001), social science stream has lower OHL (?= -9.14; 95% CI= -11.20, -7.07; p< 0.001) and higher education level of father had higher OHL (?= 1.97; 95% CI= 0.10, 3.83; p= 0.039) than their counterparts. Conclusion: Oral health literacy is higher among the science streams students compared to the social sciences streams. This suggests that science education might play a significant role in health literacy and improving health outcomes. � 2020 � 2020

Missed dental appointments drastically affect treatment proficiency and productivity of dental care facility. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and reasons for missed dental appointments among patients treated by clinical dental students of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). A total of 202 folders from year 2018 to 2020 treated by year 3 to year 5 dental students were retrieved from a pool of patient’s record files using simple random sampling methods. Information on missed appointments was recorded. Other patients’ information was kept confidential. The percentage of missed dental appointments among patients under clinical dental students’ care was 37.1% (95% CI=30.7, 44.0). The majority of patients who missed dental appointments were male (37.6%), adults (38.7%) and employee (40.2%) patients. The most reported reason for the missed dental appointment was due to personal matters (36%) and the least was forgetfulness (0.6%) and miscommunication (0.6%). In conclusion, missed dental appointment commonly occurs among patients and frequently it was due to personal matters. A proper explanation by the students before scheduling an appointment is crucial to avoid any future missed dental appointments.

One of the roles expected of dental personnel is to promote dental seeking behaviour to the public. It is to ensure that adults maintain an optimum number of teeth for overall health and quality of life by enabling them to eat, speak and socialise without pain, discomfort or embarrassment. The objective of this study was to determine the reasons for seeking dental care and the factors that influence this decision among adult patients. This was a retrospective study of clinical records among patients of 18 years old and above who attended Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Dental Polyclinic, an academic dental centre, for the first time from January 2015 to December 2016. Socio-demographic data on age, gender and occupation as well as the reason for the visit were retrieved from the clinical records. Analysis of data was conducted using SPSS software version 21.0 and the p-value was set at p<0.05. A total of 344 patient clinical records were retrieved. The most common reasons for the visit was dental check-up (18.6%), followed by scaling (15.7%) and toothache (14.2%). The reasons for the visit was further categorised into curative (63%) and preventive dental care (37%). A significant association was found between the reason of seeking dental care with age (p<0.001) and gender (p=0.030). This study indicated a tendency for young adults and female patients seeking preventive dental care. The findings of this study would provide the input in designing the preventive oral health programmes and activities.

Introduction: Intracranial volume (ICV) is an important tool in the management of patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy (DC) surgery. The aim of this study was to validate ICV measurement applying the shape-based interpolation (SBI) method using open source software on computed tomography (CT) images. Methods: The pre- and post-operative CT images of 55 patients undergoing DC surgery were analyzed. The ICV was measured by segmenting every slice of the CT images, and compared with estimated ICV calculated using the 1-in-10 sampling strategy and processed using the SBI method. An independent t test was conducted to compare the ICV measurements between the two different methods. The calculation using this method was repeated three times for reliability analysis using the intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC). The Bland-Altman plot was used to measure agreement between the methods for both pre- and post-operative ICV measurements. Results: The mean ICV (+/- SD) were 1341.1 +/- 122.1 ml (manual) and 1344.11 +/- 122.6 ml (SBI) for the preoperative CT data. The mean ICV (+/- SD) were 1396.4 +/- 132.4 ml (manual) and 1400.53 +/- 132.1 ml (SBI) for the post-operative CT data. No significant difference was found in ICV measurements using the manual and the SBI methods (p = .983 for pre-op, and p = .960 for post-op). The intrarater ICC showed a significant correlation; ICC = 1.00. The Bland-Altman plot showed good agreement between the manual and the SBI method. Conclusion: The shape-based interpolation method with 1-in-10 sampling strategy gave comparable results in estimating ICV compared to manual segmentation. Thus, this method could be used in clinical settings for rapid, reliable and repeatable ICV estimations. (C) 2019 Sociedad Espanola de Neurocirugia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Educational landscape has changed drastically over the past decades with the integration of technology to support the role of educators. The objectives of this study were to examine the use of social media application among dental students and to investigate significant demographic variables with regard to social media use for academic purposes. All dental students across all academic years were invited to participate in a self-administered questionnaire (content validated, pre-tested) survey conducted online via Google Forms. Overall response rate was 67.8%. Of the 244 respondents, 99.1% owned smartphones, with a majority of them were iPhone and Android users. Notably, 91.4% of the respondents had access to internet data via a third generation (3G) mobile carrier and WiFi connection. A majority of the respondents (97.1%) used social media to communicate or connect with friends whereas 5.7% of them used it for business purposes. There was no significant association between gender, year of study and type of internet access with the mean of social media usage for academic purposes (p > 0.05). Most of the respondents preferred YouTube (74.6%) and Google (73.7%) for seeking information in their study. In conclusion, we found that majority of respondents had acknowledged the importance of social media in education. Our findings suggest the potential value of integrating social media in teaching and learning activities to enhance students’ learning experience.

Waqf or religious endowment is of a benevolence instrument emerged to help reduce the burden of the disadvantaged people. As the cost for medical expenses are exorbitant, the availability of waqf should contribute to the improvement of the community health. The establishment of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Specialist healthcare clinic was founded by the idea of waqf through healthcare for the less fortunate. With collaboration from many agencies the establishment of the clinic has served community in need to access better health care. The primary aim of waqf clinic establishment is to continually uphold the Islamic aspects in its establishment and management for betterment of health among disadvantaged people.