Comparison of the accuracy of the London atlas and Smith method in dental age estimation in 5–15.99-year-old Iranians using the panoramic view

International Journal of Legal Medicine - Tooth development is widely used for age estimation and staging physical maturity. It is of great importance in dental age estimation in forensic...     

Adherence to confidentiality principles from the viewpoint of Iranian dental students: A multicenter study

Introduction

Confidentiality is a basic ethical principle appreciating human autonomy, relationships, and dignity and in medical research has a long history. In dental practice, it has the same importance as medical field. Therefore, providing patients with information about the confidentiality will promote their confidence in dental professionals and prevent legal conflicts. The present study sought to evaluate the knowledge and viewpoints of dental students about patient confidentiality.

Methods and Materials

In this multicenter applied research, the participants were recruited from schools of dentistry of Isfahan, Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Mashhad Universities of Medical Sciences and Isfahan Islamic Azad University during 2013. Ultimately, data were collected randomly with a researcher‐made questionnaire from 180 dental students of fifth‐sixth‐year. The collected data were entered into SPSS 20.0. Independent t‐tests and one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to analyze the data.

Result

Overall, 60.3% of the participating students were concerned about acquiring adequate knowledge on the concept of patient confidentiality and 59.0% felt obliged to participate in related educational courses. Most students (66.5%) were careful not to share patient information with their friends. According to one‐way ANOVA, students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences scored significantly higher than other participants. However, no significant differences were detected between the students of other schools.

Conclusion

The confidentiality laws imposed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education seem to adequate details, but needs more education for dentists. Also it should be accentuated, due to state of confidentiality in patients’ rights guidline and courses on ethics should be tailored based on the specific subjects raised in each field of dentistry.     

Pyrrolobenzimidazoles linked to heterocycles and peptides. Design of DNA base pair specific phosphate hydrolyzing agents and novel cytotoxic agents

Work in this laboratory has been involved with the design of aziridinyl quinone-based cancer drugs (PBIs) capable of both recognizing the DNA major groove and cleaving the phosphate backbone upon reduction to the hydroquinone. The hydroquinone species recognizes the major groove of DNA at single base pairs by Hoogsteen-type hydrogen bonding. The present study extends recognition beyond a single base pair by adding amino acid residues to the 3-amino center of the PBI system. Thus, extension with proline or proline-glycine results in phosphate cleavage at 5'-AA-3' with insignificant N(7) guanine alkylation. Molecular models were used to validate the observed sequence specificity. This report also describes the design of PBIs not capable of DNA alkylation. Removal of major groove interactions by methylation or the presence of steric bulk prevented DNA alkylation reactions upon reductive activation. From these studies it was concluded that DNA alkyation was not necessary for PBI cytostatic and cytotoxic activity. For example, linkage of two phenylalanines to the PBI results in highly selective cytostatic and cytotoxic activity against melanoma, although this compound is a weak DNA alkylator.     

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Tooth Erosion: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Background/Aims

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in children. Recurrent exposure to gastric acid in GERD may contribute to tooth erosion.

Methods

In this prospective study, 54 GERD patients qualified according to endoscopy, pH-metry, and the GERD questionnaire and 58 healthy controls qualified by the GERD questionnaire were assessed. Two groups underwent dental evaluations for the presence, severity, and patterns of erosion and for the stage of dentition using a Tooth Wear Index. The health care providers who performed the dental exams did not know which children had been diagnosed with GERD.

Results

A total of 112 children, 3 to 12 years old were enrolled in the study, and 53 of 54 (98.1%) GERD patients and 11 of 58 (19.0%) controls had dental erosions (p<0.0001). In GERD patients, the posterior occlusal surfaces of milk teeth were more affected (p<0.0001). There was no correlation between GERD and the affected surfaces in permanent teeth, nor in the patterns or erosion grades (localized or general). In both groups, milk teeth had more erosions than permanent teeth, but the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusions

According to this study, there is a positive correlation between GERD and dental erosion. Posterior occlusal surface erosions in milk teeth could indicate GERD.