Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf): Open Journal Systems
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MAXILLOFACIAL RADIOLOGY Ectodermal dysplasia
Get PDFA 9-year-old female patient presented to the clinic with a main complaint of abnormally shaped and missing teeth. Upon clinical examination, the patient had a repaired cleft lip and palate and sparse hair of her eyebrows. Intraoral and radiological examination revealed generalised enamel hypoplasia, multiple conical-shaped teeth and multiple congenitally absent teeth
Radiographic assessment of developing maxillary canine ectopia and its association with dental anomalies in the mixed dentition
Get PDFReciprocal associations have been found to exist between various dental anomalies.1-14 Maxillary canine ectopia may, however, occur in dentitions without any anomalies
Unpacking the NHI Bill recently passed by parliament in May 2023: Implications for oral health
Get PDFThe journey to enacting a policy is a lengthy but worthy process. It was first the green paper in 2012, then the white paper NHI discussions in 2015, then NHI policy in 2017 and incorporated universal health coverage concepts. From 2019 it was passed into an NHI Bill, went for public comment and was debated at length, with, understandably, many concerns. The Bill must be approved by parliament – by both the national assembly (NA) and the nation council of provinces (NCOP) – before being sent to the president to sign into law – NHI Act of 2023 [or 2024]. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the process but also brought concerns from the already sceptical public about the intended reform
Patient satisfaction with complete dentures received from an urban district hospital
Get PDFTo assess some of the factors that may contribute to patient satisfaction with a complete denture service provided by a district hospital in South Africa. The participants were patients who had received mucosa borne complete dentures at least one year previously. A questionnaire recorded demographics and treatment details either in person or telephonically. All patients were also asked to score a variety of factors related to satisfaction on a validated visual analogue scale. Associations were sought between patient demographics, treatment procedures and satisfaction. Sample size analysis required a sample size of 180 to detect at least a medium effect size, and 76 to detect large effect sizes. However, it was not possible to increase the sample size beyond 157 in the time available. Several associations were observed that were statistically significant, but most were of small effect. Even though 75% were upset at having lost their teeth, 64% reported that they had not minded wearing dentures. Overall, there were high levels of satisfaction, irrespective of the treatment procedures used. There were few meaningful associations between patient characteristics and satisfaction scores. It was clear that the patients had adapted well to their dentures. Patient satisfaction and patient adaptability are subject to many factors, and how patients cope, and what factors help remains unknown. It is clear the provision of this complete denture service in the public sector improved these patients’ quality of life and that patients can adapt to mucosa-borne dentures provided in a public setting
THE IMPORTANCE OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES IN PREPARING LAW STUDENTS FOR LEGAL PRACTICE
No full textThe gap between university legal education and legal practice significantly contributes to the view that most law graduates are substantially underprepared for entry into legal practice. Consequently, this article suggests that an improvement in the training of law students, as far as preparing them for entry into legal practice is concerned, is necessary. It is argued that this preparation is supported by transformative constitutionalism – that is, after graduation, graduates will be expected to possess certain attributes that will ensure that they are ready for entry into legal practice. It is therefore necessary to investigate and evaluate such graduate attributes, as well as to ascertain the source of the need for such attributes. In this article, the Qualification Standard for the LLB degree, as the source stipulating the standard of proficiency for which the LLB degree should prepare graduates, is also discussed. This is followed by an evaluation of a baseline study into graduate attributes from the perspective of employers. Holistically seen, the qualification standard, as well as the graduate-attributes study, should provide an indication as to whether the LLB degree is adequately preparing law graduates for entry into legal practice. The qualification standard is set out and evaluated on whether, and to what extent, it aligns with the arguments put forth in this article. The research in this article has been conducted by way of a desktop study