فهرست مطالب farzad rezaei

The provision of dental services to society members depends on the motivations of future dentists or studying students to enter this discipline and career. The present study aimed to evaluate Kermanshah dental students’ attitude toward and satisfaction with their discipline and future career.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 223 matriculated and international students in the Dentistry School of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences during 2016-2017. The subjects were selected by convenience sampling, and the standard questionnaire (encompassing nine items on satisfaction with discipline and six items on future career) was distributed among the students. Moreover, data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

In total, 223 questionnaires (76.9%) were completed by the students, 79.5% of them were satisfied with their chosen discipline. Furthermore, the high income level of the dental career was the main reason for selecting this discipline by 72.2% of the participants. On the other hand, 84.8% of the students believed that increased admission of students in this field would endanger their future career. However, the results were indicative of no significant difference between age, gender, and year and type of admission with the mean score of students’ attitude toward their discipline and future career (P>0.05).

According to the results of the study, most dental students were satisfied with their discipline. In addition, a high level of income, interest in the discipline and gaining a high social position were among the most important reasons for selecting this discipline.

Statement of the Problem: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is the most prevalent ulcerative condition of the oral mucosa. Many studies have emphasized on immunologic factors as the reason of inducing RAS; however, the exact etiologic cause of RAS has not been identified yet. Vitamin D has an endocrine function and regulatory effects on the immune system. It has potential therapeutic effects on autoimmune diseases, psoriasis, and neoplasms. Vitamin D deficiency has been detected in some autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arteritis. The aim of the present study was to compare the serum and salivary levels of vitamin D in patients with RAS and healthy individuals. In this cross sectional study, patients with RAS, referring to the Department of Oral Medicine, Tabriz Faculty of Dentistry, were evaluated after taking medical history, clinical examinations, and completing an informed consent form. The serum and salivary vitamin D levels were compared between case (n=26) and control (n=26) groups. The mean serum vitamin D levels in the case and control groups were 33.0.7±12.41 and 50.89±9.30 (ng/dL), respectively, with a statistically significant difference (p< 0.001). On the other hand, the mean salivary vitamin D levels in the case and control groups were 17.36± 8.01 and 20.79±6.31 (ng/dL), respectively, with no statistically significant difference (p= 0.09). In addition, the correlation between the serum and salivary levels of vitamin D was 56%, being statistically significant (p< 0.001). The serum levels of vitamin D in patients with RAS were significantly less than that in healthy individuals; however, there were no significant differences in salivary vitamin D levels between patients with RAS and healthy individuals. In addition, there was a significant and positive correlation between serum and salivary levels of vitamin D in all patients.