Acta Stomatologica Cappadocia

The Examination of Professionalism Attitudes Among Dental Students According to Class Level: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the Professionalism Assessment Scale

Ebru Yurdakurban — 2026-08-31

The aim of this study was to evaluate professionalism attitudes among dental students across different year levels and to investigate the effect of clinical experience on the subscales of the Professionalism Assessment Scale. This cross-sectional study included 412 students enrolled in the Faculty of Dentistry at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Data were collected using the Turkish version of the Professionalism Assessment Scale (PAS-TR), the validity and reliability of which have been previously established. The scale comprises three subscales: Professional Relationship and Development, Empathy–Humanism, and Responsibility. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Intergroup comparisons were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by the Mann–Whitney U test for post hoc pairwise analyses when statistically significant differences were identified. Overall professionalism attitude scores did not differ significantly among year levels (p > 0.05). However, students in the clinical years (fourth and fifth years) demonstrated significantly higher scores in the Professional Relationship and Development (p = 0.023) and Responsibility (p = 0.030) subscales compared with preclinical students. No statistically significant differences were observed for the Empathy–Humanism subscale. The overall internal consistency of the scale was high (Cronbach’s α = 0.88).

Although overall professionalism attitudes remained relatively stable across year levels, improvements were observed in subdomains closely related to clinical experience.

Quality of Turkish Online Information on Antibiotic Use in Periodontal Treatment: A Web-Based Analysis

Mehmet Murat Taşkan — 2026-08-31

Objective: To evaluate the reliability, quality and infodemiological profile of online information on antibiotic use in periodontal disease treatment in Turkiye.

Materials and Methods: Six Turkish search terms related to periodontal antibiotics were queried in Google and Yandex in March 2026. After deduplication and eligibility screening, 116 webpages were analysed. Reliability was assessed using Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, information quality using DISCERN and Global Quality Scale (GQS), and clinical alignment using a periodontal antibiotic stewardship checklist based on contemporary periodontal guidance. Readability was estimated with the Atesman index. Group comparisons were performed using Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests.

Results: The median DISCERN score was 38.0 (IQR: 31.0-48.0), and 64.7% of webpages were classified as poor or very poor. The median JAMA score was 1.0 (IQR: 1.0-2.0), with attribution present in 19.0% and currency in 28.4%. Professional/university websites had higher DISCERN scores than private clinic websites (52.0 vs 36.0; p<0.001) and greater guideline alignment (6.0 vs 3.0; p<0.001). Only 21.6% required clinical evaluation before antibiotics, whereas 34.5% implied that antibiotics could independently treat gingival or periodontal inflammation. Antimicrobial resistance was mentioned in 27.6% of webpages. Higher search rank was weakly associated with lower DISCERN scores (rho=-0.24; p=0.010).

Conclusion: Turkish online information on periodontal antibiotic use was highly visible but clinically uneven. Most webpages lacked transparent sourcing, risk communication and stewardship-oriented messages. These findings may help Turkish dental regulatory bodies and professional organizations develop standardized, search-visible public guidance on periodontal antibiotic use.

Adult Patients’ Perceptions And Preferences Toward Accelerated Orthodontic Treatment Perceptions of Accelerated Orthodontic Treatment

Hanan Miftah Ashour — 2026-08-31

Statement of the Problem: Prolonged orthodontic treatment may discourage adults from initiating or continuing orthodontic care. Several approaches have been proposed to accelerate orthodontic treatment, but their acceptance by patients may vary according to invasiveness and cost.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate adult patients’ perceptions of orthodontic treatment duration, their acceptance and preferences regarding invasive and non-invasive approaches to accelerate treatment, and their willingness to pay additional fees.

Materials and Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included adult patients receiving orthodontic treatment at İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University Faculty of Dentistry between October and December 2021. A 21-item questionnaire adapted from a previously published survey was administered electronically through Google Forms. The questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics, perceptions and expectations regarding treatment duration, acceptance and ranking of acceleration techniques, and willingness to pay additional fees. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Friedman’s test with pairwise post-hoc comparisons, Spearman correlation, and rank-biserial correlation were used, with statistical significance set at p<0.05.

Results: Of 300 distributed questionnaires, 295 were returned and 293 eligible participants were included. Overall, 87.3% of participants agreed that orthodontic treatment takes a long time, while 85.7% considered prolonged treatment a reason why adults may avoid orthodontic treatment. Although only 14.7% expected treatment to last less than one year, 65.5% desired treatment to be completed within one year. Overall, 70.9% were willing to undergo an additional procedure to accelerate treatment. Customized wires were the most accepted approach (89.1%), followed by vibration devices (69.6%), whereas intraoral injected drugs (28.7%), piezocision (8.2%), and corticotomy (5.2%) were less accepted. Nearly half of the participants (48.4%) were willing to pay higher monthly fees for shorter treatment.

Conclusions: Adult patients demonstrated a strong preference for shorter orthodontic treatment. Non-invasive approaches, particularly customized wires and vibration devices, were substantially more acceptable than invasive procedures. Financial considerations also influenced willingness to pay for treatment acceleration.

Association Between Periodontal Status and ABO and Rh Blood Group Phenotypes: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Melis ZİYAETTİN — 2026-08-31

Objective: To evaluate the possible association between periodontal status and ABO and Rh blood group phenotypes in a Turkish adult population.

Materials and Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional observational study retrospectively analyzed data obtained from the electronic health records of 163 systemically healthy individuals. Participants were categorized into four groups: periodontal health (n=50), gingivitis (n=49), Stage I–II periodontitis (n=25), and Stage III–IV periodontitis (n=39). Periodontal diagnoses were established according to the 2017 World Workshop Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions based on routine clinical and radiographic examinations. ABO and Rh blood group information was obtained from participants' medical records. Demographic characteristics and the associations between periodontal status and ABO and Rh blood group phenotypes were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods, with statistical significance set at p<0.05.

Results: Of the 163 participants, 54.0% were female and 46.0% were male. The mean age of the periodontitis group was significantly higher than that of the periodontal health and gingivitis group (p<0.001), whereas sex distribution did not differ significantly among the groups (p=0.143). Blood group A was the most prevalent ABO phenotype (36.2%), and Rh-positive was the predominant Rh phenotype (89.6%). No statistically significant association was observed between periodontal status and ABO blood group distribution (p=0.623) or Rh factor (p=0.263).

Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, no significant association was found between periodontal status and ABO or Rh blood group phenotypes. The findings support the multifactorial nature of periodontal diseases and suggest that ABO and Rh blood group phenotypes are not independent determinants of periodontal disease development. Further large-scale, multicenter, prospective studies involving different populations are needed to better clarify this association.