ISSN : 0376-4672
The purpose of this survey was to assess the perceptions of dental personnel concerning digital dentistry and dental digital equipment. The survey was conducted from July to August 2019 in Busan and Gyeongnam area. Three sets of questionnaires were designed to target dental professionals and staff, dental industry personnel, and dental students. The questionnaires were composed of best-choice questions, multiple-choice questions, and questions with the five-point Likert scale. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. A total of 141 dental personnel participated in the survey: 92 dental professionals and staff, 29 dental industry personnel, and 20 dental students. The time saving was the most frequent response to the benefits of digital dentistry in all job categories. The main barrier to dental digital equipment introduction was the high cost. Although the evaluation of the economic efficiency of dental digital equipment was not positive, sixty-seven percent of dental professionals and staff having no digital equipment responded that they were considering purchasing dental digital equipment. They were most interested in intra-oral scanners. In conclusion, dental personnel were positively aware of the utility of dental digital equipment and interested in introducing new equipment. However, high initial costs and uncertain economic efficiency were found to be the main barriers to using dental digital equipment.
The purpose of this survey was to explore dental students’ perceptions of the ubiquitous-based test (UBT) system that was applied to a trial dental licensure examination at a dental school. The fourth-year students of a dental school took a UBT and a paper-based test (PBT) which were administered in the format of the Korean Dental Licensure Examination. The UBT was conducted with a tablet computer with the face tracking function for preventing cheating. A survey was conducted online after the two exams ended. The questionnaire examined possession of a tablet computer, skillfulness of smart devices, the students’ perceptions about the convenience and satisfaction, reliability, and preference of UBT. The items related to the students’ perceptions were scored using a 5-point Likert scale. There were no statistically significant differences in overall perceptions of UBT by gender and possession of a tablet computer. In the convenience and satisfaction category, the convenience of viewing images received the highest mean score of 3.54 ± 1.17. The response to the reliability of exam results was positive (3.78 ± 1.31), whereas the reliability of the cheating preventing function received the lowest mean score (1.89 ± 1.12). The preference of UBT compared to PBT received a mean score of 2.36 ± 1.32. The disadvantages of UBT mentioned by the students included neck and eye fatigue, and difficulty concentrating on the exam. Some issues identified in this study can be helpful to improve the UBT system, and it will be a useful assessment tool that allows for various multimedia materials in dental education.
Lasers are widely used in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Laser therapy is effective in sterilizing the surgical wound, resecting various types of lesions and tissues, promoting blood coagulation and hemostasis. In addition, the use of the laser tends to decrease postoperative swelling or scar formation and reduce operation time. Er-YAG laser uses light in the range of 5~40nm wavelength. With its high absorption rate, the Er-YAG laser can be safely used on thin soft mucosal layers, with minimal thermal damage to adjacent tissues. We hereby report 4 cases of oral mucosal diseases which were successfully managed with Er-YAG laser under local anesthesia, and also introduce the advantages and clinical utility of the Er-YAG laser.
Pyogenic granuloma is a prevalent, benign muco-cutaneous lesion with exuberant tissue caused by local irritation or trauma. The term ‘pyogenic granuloma’ can be a misnomer because the lesion neither causes pus formation nor represents a true granuloma, histologically. Pyogenic granuloma appears as a sessile or pedunculated exophytic mass covered by yellow fibrinous membrane. Its smooth or lobulated surface may easily bleed or ulcerated. Gingiva is the most common site (75% of all cases), and lips, tongue, buccal mucosa and the hard palate are also affected. Surgical excision is the first choice of treatment many other treatment modalities can be used. After surgical excision, recurrence occurs up to 16% of these lesions. It is believed that recurrence ensues as a result of incomplete excison, failure to eliminate etiologic factors or repeated trauma. This case report describes the use of diode laser in surgical excision of the recurred pyogenic granuloma on the hard palate
Ankyloglossia or tongue tie is a congenital anomaly of the tongue characterized by a short lingual frenulum which may result in restriction of tongue movement or speech articulation problems. Ankyloglossia can lead to various problems, such as difficulties in breastfeeding in infants, maternal pain, and poor oral hygiene. Tongue tie can be treated with surgical modalities include frenotomy or frenectomy. In addition to surgical intervention, LASER therapy using a local anesthetic have been described. This case is about an ankyloglossia treatment using Er;YSGG laser.
