Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, ISSN - 0973 - 709X

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Dr Mohan Z Mani

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Believers Church Medical College,
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On Sep 2018




Prof. Somashekhar Nimbalkar

"Over the last few years, we have published our research regularly in Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. Having published in more than 20 high impact journals over the last five years including several high impact ones and reviewing articles for even more journals across my fields of interest, we value our published work in JCDR for their high standards in publishing scientific articles. The ease of submission, the rapid reviews in under a month, the high quality of their reviewers and keen attention to the final process of proofs and publication, ensure that there are no mistakes in the final article. We have been asked clarifications on several occasions and have been happy to provide them and it exemplifies the commitment to quality of the team at JCDR."



Prof. Somashekhar Nimbalkar
Head, Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad
Chairman, Research Group, Charutar Arogya Mandal, Karamsad
National Joint Coordinator - Advanced IAP NNF NRP Program
Ex-Member, Governing Body, National Neonatology Forum, New Delhi
Ex-President - National Neonatology Forum Gujarat State Chapter
Department of Pediatrics, Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad, Anand, Gujarat.
On Sep 2018




Dr. Kalyani R

"Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research is at present a well-known Indian originated scientific journal which started with a humble beginning. I have been associated with this journal since many years. I appreciate the Editor, Dr. Hemant Jain, for his constant effort in bringing up this journal to the present status right from the scratch. The journal is multidisciplinary. It encourages in publishing the scientific articles from postgraduates and also the beginners who start their career. At the same time the journal also caters for the high quality articles from specialty and super-specialty researchers. Hence it provides a platform for the scientist and researchers to publish. The other aspect of it is, the readers get the information regarding the most recent developments in science which can be used for teaching, research, treating patients and to some extent take preventive measures against certain diseases. The journal is contributing immensely to the society at national and international level."



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Professor and Head
Department of Pathology
Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College
Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research , Kolar, Karnataka
On Sep 2018




Dr. Saumya Navit

"As a peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research provides an opportunity to researchers, scientists and budding professionals to explore the developments in the field of medicine and dentistry and their varied specialities, thus extending our view on biological diversities of living species in relation to medicine.
‘Knowledge is treasure of a wise man.’ The free access of this journal provides an immense scope of learning for the both the old and the young in field of medicine and dentistry as well. The multidisciplinary nature of the journal makes it a better platform to absorb all that is being researched and developed. The publication process is systematic and professional. Online submission, publication and peer reviewing makes it a user-friendly journal.
As an experienced dentist and an academician, I proudly recommend this journal to the dental fraternity as a good quality open access platform for rapid communication of their cutting-edge research progress and discovery.
I wish JCDR a great success and I hope that journal will soar higher with the passing time."



Dr Saumya Navit
Professor and Head
Department of Pediatric Dentistry
Saraswati Dental College
Lucknow
On Sep 2018




Dr. Arunava Biswas

"My sincere attachment with JCDR as an author as well as reviewer is a learning experience . Their systematic approach in publication of article in various categories is really praiseworthy.
Their prompt and timely response to review's query and the manner in which they have set the reviewing process helps in extracting the best possible scientific writings for publication.
It's a honour and pride to be a part of the JCDR team. My very best wishes to JCDR and hope it will sparkle up above the sky as a high indexed journal in near future."



Dr. Arunava Biswas
MD, DM (Clinical Pharmacology)
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacology
Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital , Kolkata




Dr. C.S. Ramesh Babu
" Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR) is a multi-specialty medical and dental journal publishing high quality research articles in almost all branches of medicine. The quality of printing of figures and tables is excellent and comparable to any International journal. An added advantage is nominal publication charges and monthly issue of the journal and more chances of an article being accepted for publication. Moreover being a multi-specialty journal an article concerning a particular specialty has a wider reach of readers of other related specialties also. As an author and reviewer for several years I find this Journal most suitable and highly recommend this Journal."
Best regards,
C.S. Ramesh Babu,
Associate Professor of Anatomy,
Muzaffarnagar Medical College,
Muzaffarnagar.
On Aug 2018




Dr. Arundhathi. S
"Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR) is a reputed peer reviewed journal and is constantly involved in publishing high quality research articles related to medicine. Its been a great pleasure to be associated with this esteemed journal as a reviewer and as an author for a couple of years. The editorial board consists of many dedicated and reputed experts as its members and they are doing an appreciable work in guiding budding researchers. JCDR is doing a commendable job in scientific research by promoting excellent quality research & review articles and case reports & series. The reviewers provide appropriate suggestions that improve the quality of articles. I strongly recommend my fraternity to encourage JCDR by contributing their valuable research work in this widely accepted, user friendly journal. I hope my collaboration with JCDR will continue for a long time".



Dr. Arundhathi. S
MBBS, MD (Pathology),
Sanjay Gandhi institute of trauma and orthopedics,
Bengaluru.
On Aug 2018




Dr. Mamta Gupta,
"It gives me great pleasure to be associated with JCDR, since last 2-3 years. Since then I have authored, co-authored and reviewed about 25 articles in JCDR. I thank JCDR for giving me an opportunity to improve my own skills as an author and a reviewer.
It 's a multispecialty journal, publishing high quality articles. It gives a platform to the authors to publish their research work which can be available for everyone across the globe to read. The best thing about JCDR is that the full articles of all medical specialties are available as pdf/html for reading free of cost or without institutional subscription, which is not there for other journals. For those who have problem in writing manuscript or do statistical work, JCDR comes for their rescue.
The journal has a monthly publication and the articles are published quite fast. In time compared to other journals. The on-line first publication is also a great advantage and facility to review one's own articles before going to print. The response to any query and permission if required, is quite fast; this is quite commendable. I have a very good experience about seeking quick permission for quoting a photograph (Fig.) from a JCDR article for my chapter authored in an E book. I never thought it would be so easy. No hassles.
Reviewing articles is no less a pain staking process and requires in depth perception, knowledge about the topic for review. It requires time and concentration, yet I enjoy doing it. The JCDR website especially for the reviewers is quite user friendly. My suggestions for improving the journal is, more strict review process, so that only high quality articles are published. I find a a good number of articles in Obst. Gynae, hence, a new journal for this specialty titled JCDR-OG can be started. May be a bimonthly or quarterly publication to begin with. Only selected articles should find a place in it.
An yearly reward for the best article authored can also incentivize the authors. Though the process of finding the best article will be not be very easy. I do not know how reviewing process can be improved. If an article is being reviewed by two reviewers, then opinion of one can be communicated to the other or the final opinion of the editor can be communicated to the reviewer if requested for. This will help one’s reviewing skills.
My best wishes to Dr. Hemant Jain and all the editorial staff of JCDR for their untiring efforts to bring out this journal. I strongly recommend medical fraternity to publish their valuable research work in this esteemed journal, JCDR".



Dr. Mamta Gupta
Consultant
(Ex HOD Obs &Gynae, Hindu Rao Hospital and associated NDMC Medical College, Delhi)
Aug 2018




Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey

"I wish to thank Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), for asking me to write up few words.
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium i e; into the words and sentences on paper. Quality medical manuscript writing in particular, demands not only a high-quality research, but also requires accurate and concise communication of findings and conclusions, with adherence to particular journal guidelines. In medical field whether working in teaching, private, or in corporate institution, everyone wants to excel in his / her own field and get recognised by making manuscripts publication.


Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."



Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011




Dr. Shankar P.R.

"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."



Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011
Anuradha

Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.


Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020

Important Notice

Original article / research
Year : 2022 | Month : November | Volume : 16 | Issue : 11 | Page : ZC36 - ZC42 Full Version

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Dental Stem Cells and Tooth Banking among Dental Professionals: A Questionnaire-based Cross-sectional Study


Published: November 1, 2022 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2022/57547.17178
Arohi V Desai, Pratik B Kariya, Barkha Bansal

1. Postgraduate Student, Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. 2. Reader, Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. 3. Postgraduate Student, Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Correspondence Address :
Dr. Pratik B Kariya,
Reader, Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
E-mail: prateek.kariya@gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction: Stem cell therapy is new revolutionary technique which can repair many defects of human body. There are two sources of stem cells, one is embryonic and postnatal. Postnatal sites are the ones from which procuring stem cells is easiest. Dental stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth are also obtained from these sources. Dental health professionals must have understanding about dental stem cells for its application. Hence, there is need to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of dental professionals regarding dental stem cells.

Aim: To evaluate Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) regarding dental stem cells and tooth banking among dental professionals of Gujarat.

Materials and Methods: The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara, Gujarat, India from December 2020 to March 2021. Total of dental health professionals participated including undergraduate (interns) and postgraduate students, dental practitioners and faculty members of dental colleges. Participants received the questionnaire in the form of a google form through email and whatsApp. The data was analysed using percentages of total and Chi-square test for statistical analysis.

Results: Out of 711 participants, 410 were students, 44 faculties, 207 practitioners and 50 faculties and practitioner both. Among the faculty, knowledge on types of dental stem cells was significantly associated with the years of experience (p-value <0.001). Among the students, first year postgraduate students and interns had significantly less knowledge regarding various applications of dental stem cells (p-value <0.001). Among them, 52.9% participants were aware of stem cell banks in India and 55.5% were aware of names of stem cell banks. Participants suggested that seminars, journals, academic curriculum, conferences or Continued Dental Education (CDE), and advertisement and public notice all should be used to increase awareness of dental stem cells among dental professionals.

Conclusion: There was adequate awareness among dental health professionals regarding dental stem cells and their applications but were unaware about tooth banking and its procedure. The study also found that there was lack of knowledge regarding steps of preservation of dental stem cells and their ethical concerns. Therefore, the topic of dental stem cells should be included in dental curriculum.

Keywords

Postnatal stem cells, Preservation, Umbilical cord cells

Human body is composed of millions of cells which are exposed to numerous aliments. Disease causes many defects in body which have to be healed for normal functioning of body. There are two ways in which healing occurs in our human body i.e. repair and regeneration (1). Nature has assigned this task to specialised cells of our body that are known as stem cells, these are pluripotent in nature i.e property to regenerate into different cells and parts of body as and when required [2,3]. Stem cells are of different types like chondrogenic (generate cartilage), osteogenic (generate bone), adipogenic (generate connective tissue), and neurogenic (generate neural tissue) (2). Based on their potential to regenerate, stem cells are classified as totipotent, pleuripotent, multipotent, oligopotent, or unipotent (3),(4).

These cells can be acquired from two site embryonic or postnatal sites. Bone marrow, allograft, and dental stem cells are all postnatal sites. There are various types of dental stem cells which include Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSCs), Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells (PLSCs), Stem Cell From Apical Pulp (SCAP), Dental Follicular Precursor Cell (DFPC), and Stem Cells from Exfoliated Deciduous teeth (SHED) (5),(6). Among all these types, exfoliated deciduous teeth are most preferred because they have many added advantages like least traumatic technique, safest and has no side effects (7).

Exfoliated deciduous tooth stem cells have proved to have a greater differentiation capacity than other dental stem cells (8),(9). The laboratories preserving stem cells provide storage media and container in which clinician has to store exfoliated deciduous teeth. These cells are stored using cryopreservation under 4° C (10). There are specialised dental stem cell banks which store these dental stem cells (11).

Dental stem cells are new road to regeneration as they are easy to obtain, less invasive and require lesser resources for collection. For utilisation of dental stem cells in regenerative process, knowledge regarding dental stem cells, their sources, types, method of preservation, ethical concerns, application in dentistry, duration of preservation, etc. is very necessary (12).

All dental health professionals starting from students to faculty and professionals play an important role in creating awareness and break the stigma regarding application of dental stem cells. On literature search as there are very few studies found (12),(13),(14),(15),(16),(17) regarding knowledge, attitude and practice of dental stem cells and tooth banking. Most of the studies focused on dental stem cells and ignored stem cell banking (12),(13). Thus, there is a need to assess the level of knowledge regarding use of dental stem cells and available tooth banking systems in India. The aim was to evaluate and compare knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dental stem cells and tooth banking among dental professionals.

Material and Methods

The study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, KM Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara, Gujarat, India from December 2020 to March 2021, after obtaining approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. Convenience sampling technique was used and sample size was calculated based on Sede MA et al. (2013) (12). Out of 1000, a total of 711 dental health professionals completed the questionnaire.

Inclusion and Exclusion criteria: The target population included undergraduate (interns) and postgraduate students, dental practitioners and faculty members of dental colleges of Gujrat. Participants who didn’t give consent to fill questionnaire or filled an incomplete questionnaire were excluded from the study.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire was prepared based on studies and validated by subject expert (12),(13),(14),(15). Reliability of the questionnaire was tested using test-retest method at two week interval on a sample of 20. They were excluded from final sample. The test-retest correlation coefficient was +0.95. For the internal consistency between items of questionnaire, Cronbach’s α was calculated. The Cronbach’s α was found to be +0.90. The questionnaire was checked for Face validity and Content Validity by five subject experts. More than half of the experts rated the questions essential. Content validity ratio for every item and average content validity ratio was calculated from the responses of the expert. The content validity ratio was found to be 0.78 at p-value <0.05. Participants received the questionnaire in the form of a google form via email and whatsapp. The survey form consisted of two parts in which first part included demographic data, introduction to the study and consent form and second part consisted of questionnaire. Questionnaire consisted of 21 questions among which 13 for knowledge, three for attitude and five for practice regarding dental stem cells and stem cell banking [Annexure 1]. The participants, who didn’t fill the questionnaire within 15 days, were reminded three times for filling the questionnaire at the interval of 15 days.

Statistical Analysis

The participant’s responses were entered into Microsoft Excel 2018. The analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 21.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The data was analysed using percentages of total and Chi-square test for statistical analysis. A p-value <0.05 is considered to be significant.

Results

A total of 711 people completed the questionnaire, among which 499 were women and 212 were men. Out of 711 participants 410 were students, 44 faculties, 207 practitioners and 50 faculties and practitioner both. Amongst students 158 interns (undergraduates), 88 first year postgraduate students, 118 second year postgraduate students and 46 third year postgraduate students had participated. (Table/Fig 1).

Among the participants with work experience of >10 years had statistically more knowledge on dental stem cells (p-value=0.002). Among the students, first year postgraduate students and interns had significantly less knowledge regarding various applications of dental stem cells (p-value <0.001). It was found that professionals with work experience less than 5 years had significant less knowledge regarding different types and applications of dental stem cells (p-value <0.001). Interns also had less knowledge on different applications of dental stem cells (p-value <0.001) (Table/Fig 2).

Higher percentage of professionals with >10 years of experience responded that it is important to preserve the stem cells even after preservation of umbilical cord stem cells (p-value <0.001). For students, second and final year MDS students were more aware about preserving dental stem cells even after preservation of umbilical cord stem cells (p-value <0.05) (Table/Fig 3).

According to participants high cost, ethical issues and insufficient awareness among patients regarding dental stem cells, all are factors which are obstacle for patients obtaining dental stem cells therapy and was statistically significant (Table/Fig 4). Participants suggested that seminars, journals, academic curriculum, conferences or CDE, and advertisement and public notice all should be used to raise dental practitioners’ awareness regarding dental stem cells and tooth banking (Table/Fig 4).

Discussion

Stem cells are boon to healthcare sector as it has ability to regenerate deficiency (12). Therefore, this study targeted to evaluate knowledge and awareness about dental stem cells among dental professionals.

Dental stem cells include dental pulp stem cells, exfoliated deciduous tooth stem cells, and apical papilla stem cells (7). Dental stem cells can be utilised for regeneration of whole tooth, pulp, dentin and periodontium. Regenerative dentistry is based on the idea of using stem cells, gene therapy, and other regeneration techniques (9). Dental stem cells are diverse in nature, with applications in the treatment of heart disease, brain tissue, muscular dystrophy, and bone regeneration (12). Stem cells bank preserving dental stem cells for maximum 20 years are, Stemade Biotech, Transcell Biologics Pvt. Ltd., and Ree Labs (13). Stem cell therapy is itself under research and also has ethical concerns. For its application in the realm of medicine, researchers must follow the ethical norms set forth by the Indian Council of Medical Research (14). It can be breakthrough in field of health for which willingness to collect and invest is important. Lack of awareness, high cost, ethical concerns, etc. are obstacles for both patient and doctor (12).

Storage of dental stem cells is important as they are safest to procure and are multipotent (7). Davies OG and Scheven BA have given the importance of storing protocol and storage of dental stem cells as biological insurance, which can be utilised for same genetic makeup (10).

Participants of all group had lack of knowledge regarding technique of preservation of dental stem cells and ethical guidelines for its clinical application given by Indian Council of Medical Research. Results found by Nagraj A and Acharya S (13), Katage F et al., (14), Chitroda PK et al., (15) were similar to the present study.

In the present study, it was found that all dental health professionals had positive attitude regarding recommending dental stem cell preservation and tooth banking. Similar result was found by Goswami M et al., (16).

Chitroda PK et al., (15) and Katage F et al., (14) suggested that high cost and lack of awareness are the major factors creating barrier for use of dental stem cells which was similar to our study. Contrary result was found by Nagraj A and Acharya S, (13), in which they suggested that high cost lesser responsible than lack of knowledge for creating barrier in use of dental stem cells.

Chitroda PK et al., (15) found that main obstacles in seeking dental stem cell therapy are high cost, lack of awareness, ethical issue and insufficient knowledge regarding dental stem cells among dental health professional and people similar to our study. Similar result was found by Katage F et al., (14) that high cost and lack of awareness are barriers for recommending dental stem cell therapy by dental professionals.

To gain knowledge there are many methods like seminars, lectures, conferences, wokrshops, etc. Integrating all these approaches raises public awareness of the subject, bridging the knowledge gap between experts and dental stem cells. Similar studies were found by Chitroda PK et al., (15), Sede MA et al., (12) and Nagraj A and Acharya S (13). Alhadlaq A et al., (17) concluded that dental curriculum should be updated by adding stem cells and their future applications in dentistry.

All participants showed willingness towards attending future conferences on this topic. Chitroda PK et al., (15) had found that participants are willing to get exposed to such less talked topics like dental stem cells and tooth banking, which is similar to our study. Tabulation of the results of similar studies have been done in (Table/Fig 5) (12),(13),(14),(15),(16),(17).

Limitation(s)

The collected data was self-reported by participants through a questionnaire. Usually, self-reported data cannot be independently verified and may be prone to bias such as exaggerated or lessened response by individuals. Therefore, further assessment and efforts should be undertaken on multicentric level for reducing such bias.

Conclusion

This study suggests that there was awareness among dental professionals regarding dental stem cells but still, there was lack of knowledge on method of collection, ethical concerns and guidelines regarding dental stem cells. It was found that there are many obstacles like high cost, patient acceptance, ethical issues and insufficient knowledge among patients and professionals. There is need for increasing horizon of dental stem cells and making professionals skilled and patients aware about it so that these can be used for regeneration. The dental curriculum and educational programs should include in detail regarding dental stem cells, storage technique and time. Therefore, it will open new ways for dental stem cell therapy in the field of dentistry. There is need for future in-vivo research and increase applicability of dental stem cells in treatment in field of dentistry.

References

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Hemalatha R, Panneerselvam K. Dental stem cells origin, banking, engineering and applications. J Appl Dent Med Sci. 2017;3:3.
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DOI and Others

DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2022/57547.17178

Date of Submission: May 10, 2022
Date of Peer Review: Jun 29, 2022
Date of Acceptance: Sep 10, 2022
Date of Publishing: Nov 01, 2022

AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA

PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: May 12, 2022
• Manual Googling: Sep 03, 2022
• iThenticate Software: Sep 09, 2022 (8%)

ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin

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