The usage of dental cone-beam computed tomography during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2020 to 2022): A survey of a regional hospital in the northern Taiwan

Background/purpose

In Taiwan, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has already widely used in dentistry. This study explored preliminarily the usage of dental CBCT during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2020 to 2022) through a survey of a regional hospital in the northern Taiwan.

Materials and methods

This study used purposeful sampling to select a regional hospital in the northern Taiwan to survey its usage of dental CBCT during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

In the surveyed hospital, the number of patients' visits for the usage of dental CBCT increased from 355 in 2020 to 449 in 2021 and further to 488 in 2022 with a growth rate of 37.46 %, while the growth rates compared to the previous year were 26.48 % in 2021 and 8.69 % in 2022, respectively. There were a total of 1292 patients' visits for the dental CBCT. The ages of the 1292 patients (573 males and 719 females) ranged from 4 to 89 years. The 50-59-year age group had the highest number of patients' visits (371, 28.72 %), followed in a descending order by the 60-69-year (293, 22.68 %) and 40-49-year (206, 15.94 %) age groups. The dental CBCT was used mainly for the assessment of dental implants, accounting for 1148 (78.85 %) of the total 1456 irradiations.

Conclusion

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical services for dental care and treatments in Taiwan are still maintained normally, and the dental CBCT is also used widely and popularly by the dental patients of all ages, various dental procedures, and various dental specialties.

A survey study for the dental students' satisfaction with the "needling therapies for temporomandibular disorders" lectures

Background/purpose

Dry needling therapy and acupuncture can effectively relieve myofascial pain in temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). This study evaluated dental students' satisfaction with the "needling therapies for TMDs" lectures given in 2022 and 2023.

Materials and methods

The "needling therapies for TMDs" lectures included mainly a dry needling therapy lecture and an acupuncture lecture which were given to the fifth-year dental students in both 2022 and 2023. An additional needling therapy demonstration lecture was given in 2023 only. Immediately after the lectures, the students were asked to complete an online-based questionnaire with four survey questions regarding their satisfaction with (1) the dry needling therapy, (2) the acupuncture, (3) the overall, and (4) the needling therapy demonstration lectures using 5-point Likert scale ratings.

Results

Fifty-three (80 %) of 66 and 60 (81 %) of 74 students answered the questions in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The satisfaction rates improved from 70 % in 2022 to 83 % in 2023 for the dry needling therapy lecture, from 64 % in 2022 to 85 % in 2023 for the acupuncture lecture, and from 70 % in 2022 to 88 % in 2023 for the overall lecture. The satisfaction rate was 88 % in 2023 for the needling therapy demonstration lecture.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that inclusion of the needling therapy demonstration lecture in 2023 can results in a marked increase in the satisfaction rates for the lectures. The relatively-lower satisfaction rate for the acupuncture lecture in 2022 may be due to the difficulty in understanding the mechanisms underlying the acupuncture therapy.

Analysis of approved dental teaching projects in the teaching practice research program in 8 dental schools of Taiwan from 2018 to 2023

Background/purpose

The teaching practice research program was initiated by Taiwan's Ministry of Education in 2018 to improve medical teaching quality. This study analyzed dental teaching projects conducted under this program from 2018 to 2023.

Materials and methods

Data of submitted and approved medical (including dental) teaching projects from 2018 to 2023 were obtained from the annual reports released by the program committee. The annual passing rates were calculated by dividing the number of approved dental teaching projects by the total number of approved medical teaching projects in the category of medical and healthcare sciences in a particular year. The 24 approved dental teaching projects were reviewed, classified into different topics in the dental field, and then reported.

Results

There were 24 approved dental teaching projects out of a total of 822 approved medical teaching projects from 2018 to 2023. The annual passing rates increased gradually from 2018 (1.4 %) to 2022 (3.9 %) and 2023 (3.8 %) with an overall mean passing rate of 2.9 % over a period of 6 years. Of the 24 approved dental teaching projects, digital dentistry was the most common teaching research topic (9 projects), followed by new teaching models (7 projects), 3D technology (3 projects), endodontics (3 projects), dental histology (one project), and evidence-based method (one project).

Conclusion

Digital dentistry and new teaching models were the two predominant dental teaching research topics, suggesting that both are the modern trends in the dental education. However, the dental teaching research projects are still very limited in 8 Taiwanese dental schools.

The relationship between graduation school background and geographical distribution of dentists in Taiwan

Background/purpose

Taiwan's eight dental schools are all located in the western region. This study attempted to analyze the relationship between the geographical distribution of dentists in Taiwan and their graduation school background and to develop several statistical indicators to analyze the geographical distribution of dentists.

Materials and methods

The method of the secondary data analysis was adopted to collect the open information related to the number of the practicing dentists based on their graduation schools and practice locations by cities and counties in Taiwan in January 2023. The data were used to develop several statistical indicators to analyze the geographical distribution of dentists.

Results

There were 16,533 practicing dentists in Taiwan in January 2023. Of the 16,533 dentists, 15,687 (94.88 %) graduated from domestic dental schools and 846 (5.12 %) graduated from foreign dental schools. For the school location, the coefficient of variation, Gini coefficient, population proportion index, and population density index were the largest (168.57 %, 0.47, 10.76 %, and 3927.01 people/square kilometer) in the dentists graduating from the northern dental schools. In overall, the dentists were concentrated in municipalities, cities, and the northern region of Taiwan, especially those graduating from the northern dental schools.

Conclusion

In Taiwan, the geographical distribution of dentists is highly related to their graduation school background. Promoting a balanced distribution of dental enrollment quotas and dental student sources from different geographical locations and inducing the movement of dentists to the dentist-shortage areas may be the more feasible ways to solve the uneven geographical distribution of dentists in Taiwan.

Risk factors and treatments for impacted permanent second molars

Background/purpose

Impaction of permanent second molar (PM2) is found occasionally. This study tried to explore the risk factors associated with the impacted PM2 teeth and show how to use different treatment modalities to correct the impaction of PM2 teeth.

Materials and methods

This study used three cases of PM2 impaction to show how to identify the risk factors of PM2 impaction and how to remove these risk factors to facilitate the eruption of impacted PM2 teeth to the correct occlusal positions.

Results

The first and second cases both showed delayed eruptions of two maxillary PM2 teeth. After resection of the dense fibrotic gingival tissues on the tooth eruption pathway, these two impacted maxillary PM2 teeth finally erupted to the normal occlusal positions by their inherent tooth eruption potential. The second case also had mesioangular impaction of two mandibular PM2 teeth. After odontectomy of teeth 38 and 48, the two impacted mandibular PM2 teeth also erupted to the normal occlusal positions by their inherent tooth eruption potential. The third case had impaction of teeth 17, 27 and 47. After extraction of four third molars and four selected premolars, orthodontic mesialization of four permanent first molars, and orthodontic traction using a mini-screw, the three impacted teeth finally erupted to the normal occlusal positions.

Conclusion

We conclude that after removing the obstacles on the tooth eruption pathway, the impacted PM2 teeth usually can erupt to their normal occlusal positions by their inherent tooth eruption potential with or without the assistance of orthodontic traction.

Integration of arts into dental education: Beauty in the histological photomicrographs

Background/purpose

Integration of arts and humanities into dental education is important for developing holistically oriented dental professionals. This study aimed to survey dental students' perception of integrating arts and sciences into dental education with an innovative pedagogical approach through a photomicrograph competition.

Materials and methods

Students used digital imaging tools and creative approaches to capture photomicrographs that revealed hidden beauty in oral tissue sections. The photomicrograph works were posted online for scoring. The scoring activity, questionnaire survey, and complimentary comments of the participants were conducted online using a Google form.

Results

The photomicrograph competition garnered a 24% participation rate from the 490 undergraduate dental students. Of the 116 participants, 65% agreed that the photomicrograph competition increased their interest in learning microscopic lessons, 87% very strongly or strongly supported to hold the photomicrograph competition every year, and 72% believed that the photomicrograph competition could be adopted to the dental students in all dental schools in Taiwan. The overall satisfaction rate of the photomicrograph competition was 91%. The free comments from all participants were generally positive towards this photomicrograph competition.

Conclusion

The photomicrograph competition shows the transformative potential of integrating arts and humanities into dental education. Through the lens of photomicrography, the hidden wonders in oral tissue sections have been unveiled. This photomicrograph competition, a pioneering endeavor with no precedent in English literature, has proven to be a resounding success that unites the realms of scientific inquiry and artistic expression, and may be a transformative agent in nurturing holistic dental professionals.

The implication of instructional design for deciduous tooth identification in a dental morphology course for undergraduate dental students

Background/purpose

The pediatric dentistry courses are lacking in our six-year undergraduate dental education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implication of instructional design for deciduous tooth identification in a dental morphology course for undergraduate dental students through students' perspectives.

Materials and methods

A total of 34 s-year dental students who took this dental morphology course were invited to fill out the questionnaire for survey of instructional design for deciduous tooth identification after the class.

Results

Of the 34 dental students, 32 of them participated in the survey with a valid response rate of 94.1%. The results showed that most students found the learning activity of instructional design for deciduous tooth identification to be helpful for improving their knowledge about deciduous dentition. Most of them also had positive attitude towards this instructional design.

Conclusion

Since the proportion of pediatric dentistry courses in the undergraduate dental education is very low and children's oral problems are indeed faced by all dentists, it is important to add learning units of pediatric dentistry-related knowledge in different undergraduate dental professional courses or to propose strategies to promote students' awareness of self-directed learning about pediatric dentistry. This study may serve as a model for other undergraduate dental courses in Taiwan.

Oral soft tissue biopsy surgery: Current principles and key tissue stabilization techniques

There are different kinds of benign and malignant lesions in the oral cavity. Clinically, definite diagnosis can be confirmed only by doing adequate surgical biopsy and subsequent histopathological examination. Inadequate biopsy technique, unsuitable selection of the location for biopsy, inappropriate tissue handling and record of patients' information may lead to artifacts and misdiagnosis by the oral pathologists. Soft tissue stabilization is a challenge during oral surgery procedures. It needs the cooperation of operator, assistants, and patients to overcome the difficulty and ensure the successful outcome. In this article, we reviewed the procedures for clinical surgical biopsy, and raised three current tissue stabilization methods including fingers and gauze stabilization, stabilization with chalazion forceps and adapted instruments, and stabilization with retraction sutures. Moreover, some limitations were also presented. Clinician should examine the clinical characteristics of the oral lesion, the surrounding anatomical structures, and their own clinical experience and preference to select the appropriate tool. More understanding of these biopsy and tissue stabilization methods can effectively improve the biopsy procedures and obtain adequate tissues for histopathological examination and subsequent issue of an accurate pathological report.

Online courses for dentist continuing education: A new trend after the COVID-19 pandemic

Background/purpose

Online courses have been widely used in all levels of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the effectiveness of a dentist continuing education (DCE) course through the online devices in Taiwan.

Materials and methods

The practicing dentists who participated in the online course of dental radiation technology for DCE offered by the Taiwan Dental Association (TWDA) in October 2022 and in March 2023 were enrolled in this study. The composition of participating dentists was confirmed by the public inquiry system and their learning effectiveness was evaluated by a questionnaire-based survey after the online DCE class.

Results

All participating dentists (132 in October 2022 and 117 in March 2023) obtained consistent good learning outcomes in this online DCE course. Of these 249 dentists, there were 170 (68.27%) males and 79 (31.73%) females, 127 (51.00%) dental specialists and 122 (49.00%) general dentists, as well as 50 (20.08%) hospital dentists and 199 (79.92%) clinic dentists. The participation rates for this course of practicing dentists in non-municipalities (4.70%), counties (3.88%), eastern region (8.08%), and outlying islands (3.60%) were much higher than those in municipalities (0.79%), cities (1.16%), and the western region including the northern region (0.88%), central region (1.96%), and southern region (1.94%), respectively.

Conclusion

The participating dentists express positive feedback on the online DCE courses, and the online DCE courses can reduce the urban-rural gap in dental education resources. The use of online DCE courses in dental education will be a future trend.

The implication of integrating pediatric education into a pediatric dentistry course for undergraduate dental students

Background/purpose

The separation of dentistry and medicine was initiated as a historical root. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implication of integrating pediatric education into a pediatric dentistry course (so-called the integrated pediatric dentistry course in this study) for undergraduate dental students through students' perspectives.

Materials and methods

A total of the 34 fifth-year dental students were invited to fill out the questionnaire for the integrated pediatric dentistry course survey after the class of integrated pediatric dentistry course.

Results

Of the 34 dental students, all participated in the survey with a 100% valid response rate. The results showed that most of dental students found this integrated pediatric dentistry course to be helpful in improving their knowledge and clinical skills for pediatric dentistry, and knowledge about pediatrics related to dentistry. However, in comparison, the acquisition of clinical skills was less than that of knowledge for pediatric dentistry.

Conclusion

We conclude that the integrated pediatric dentistry course improves dental students' knowledge and clinical skills about pediatric dentistry, and knowledge about pediatrics related to dentistry. Considering the effectiveness of this integrated pediatric dentistry course on students' knowledge and clinical skills, and positive attitude towards pediatric dentistry, this model shows promising for the further use in the dental education.

Morbidity and mortality of oral cancer in Taiwan: Trends from 2000 to 2021

Background/purpose

Oral cancer is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in Taiwan. This study investigated the morbidity and mortality of oral cancer in Taiwan from 2000 to 2021.

Materials and methods

The population data and the records of cancer registry were obtained from the websites of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, respectively. The numbers of oral cancer cases and deaths were analyzed from 2000 to 2021.

Results

The numbers of oral cancer cases and deaths increased from 3378 to 1494 in 2000-8277 in 2020 and 3395 in 2021, respectively. The total increase of oral cancer cases was 4899 with a total increase rate of 145.03%, while the total increase of oral cancer deaths was 1901 with a total increase rate of 127.24%. The changes in the numbers of all cancer cases and deaths, as well as the morbidity and mortality of oral cancer or all cancers also showed similar trends. Furthermore, the death-to-case ratio of oral cancers decreased from 44.23% in 2000 to 40.84% in 2020. The total decrease was 3.39% with a total decrease rate of 7.66%.

Conclusion

In Taiwan, people's awareness of oral mucosal health is still inadequate. Obviously, there is still much room for improvement in the oral mucosal health education for our people. With the expertise and responsibility for taking good care of oral health of our people, the dental personnel should take active roles in the prevention and screening for oral cancers.