Нами вперше розпрацьована методика прижиттєвого визначення морфологічних змін  поверхні емалі на етапах медикаментного лікування дисколоритів зубів, опрацьованих 15 % та  30 % препаратом ПК. Суттєвою перевагою цього методу є можливість аналізу in vivo змін ультраструктури поверхні емалі при неінвазійному методі лікування твердих тканин зуба. 

The purpose of the work was to study the activity of the carious process in people of different ages using the assessment of the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System index. Materials and methods. The study involved 53 people who were divided into groups: group 1 – 16 people  aged 18 to 25 years, group 2 – 20 people aged 26 to 35 years and group 3 – 17 people aged 36 to 45 years. 
The intensity of caries was determined using the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth index. The International  Caries Detection and Assessment System index was used to assess the activity of carious lesions. Results. The indicators of the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth index in the group of people aged 18-25 years significantly differed (p <0.05) from the indicators in the group of people aged 26-45 years. In the group of people aged 36-45 years the indicators were higher than in the group of people aged 26-45 years, but no significant difference (p˃0.05) was found. In the group of people aged 18-25 years the share of filled teeth was 61.5%, teeth affected by caries were found in 29.4%, and removed teeth – in 9.1%. In the group of people aged 26-45 years, the rate of filled teeth was lower compared to people of the 1st group, the share of carious teeth increased up to 35.0%, and the number of removed teeth increased up to 16.4%. In the group of people aged 36-45 years the share of teeth affected by caries was lower than in the 1st and 2nd groups and was equal to 27.3%, the share of filled teeth was 46.2%, which is lower than in other groups, but the share of removed teeth was the highest of the groups which were examined and was 26.5%. The results indicate a rapid increase in the intensity of caries in patients of main working age, namely persons of the 2nd and 3rd groups compared with persons of young working age of the 1st group. The study of the depth of caries in enamel and dentin according to the International Caries Detection and Assessment System showed that in patients aged 18-25 years, from all teeth which are affected by caries in 71.4% enamel caries was found, which averaged 1.81 ± 0.2 teeth and in 28.6% – dentin lesions, which was an average of 0.68 ± 0.2. In patients aged 26-35 years, codes 1-3 accounted for 41.0% of affected teeth (mean 2.05 ± 0.1 teeth) and code 4-6 accounted for 59.0% of affected teeth (average 2.95 ± 0.2 teeth). In patients of the oldest age group, the number of teeth affected by caries with a code of 1-3 was 27.9% (average of 1.12 ±  0.1 teeth) and with a code of 4-6 was 72.1% (average of 2.88 ± 0.2 teeth). Conclusion. As the age of patients increases, the proportion of filled teeth decreases, but the proportion of removed teeth increases. The highest percentage of teeth affected by caries was found in the 3rd group.
As the age of patients increases, both the average number of carious teeth and the number of teeth with damage dentin increase

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of concomitant somatic pathology on periodontal tissues. Materials and methods. 104 patients, aged 28–46 years, with diseases of periodontal tissues, who had somatic pathology, were involved in the study. The examined persons were divided into groups: 35 persons (group 1) with pathology of the hepatobiliary system, 37 persons (group 2) with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, and 32 persons (group 3) with pathology of the cardiovascular system. The comparison group included 30 people with periodontal tissue diseases without somatic pathology. To determine the depth and prevalence of the inflammatory process of the gums the Svrakov’s number indicator was used. Oral hygiene was assessed according to the Silness-Loe and Stallard indices. The papillary-marginal-alveolar index (C. Parma, 1960) was determined to assess the severity of gum inflammation. Bleeding gums were assessed by the gum’s papilla bleeding index according to Muhllemann. Statistical processing of the research results was carried out with a computer program for variational and statistical analysis of medical and biological research data “GraphPad Prism 5”.
Results and discussion. Patients with diseases of periodontal tissues against the background of somatic pathology had the highest percentage of chronic generalized periodontitis of the II degree, in contrast patients of the comparison group had the highest percentage of chronic generalized periodontitis of the initial – I degree. Svrakov’s number in patients with periodontal disease against the background of somatic pathology significantly (р ˂0.05) exceeded the indicators of patients of the comparison group. At the same time, there is no significant difference between the results of groups 1, 2 and 3.
The highest values of the indexes of Silness-Loe and Stallard were recorded in patients with the cardiovascular system pathology, which significantly (p<0.05) exceeded the data in the comparison group, but did not significantly differ from the results of patients with pathology of hepatobiliary system and gastrointestinal tract. The papillary-marginal-alveolar index data were the highest in patients with hepatobiliary system pathology (64.25 ± 8.19%), which significantly (p<0.05) exceeded the results of the comparison group and in individuals of groups 2 and 3.The highest indicator of the bleeding index is 1.98 ± 0.22 points in patients of the 1st group, which significantly exceeds the indicators in the group of people without somatic pathology and in the group of patients with pathology of gastrointestinal tract and cardiovascular system. Conclusion. The conducted studies show that the presence of somatic pathology contributes to the development of periodontal tissue diseases, and certainly aggravates their course, which is proven by the results of the index assessment.
Keywords: periodontitis, somatic pathology, periodontal indices.

Objective: To systematize available data regarding COVID-19 vaccination aspects among dental specialists and  highlight relevant occupationally-related features of vaccination challenges.
Materials and Methods: Search of pertinent literature sources associated with above-formulated objective was  provided via PubMed Central database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Google Scholar search engine  (https://scholar.google.com/). Criteria of publication date included 2020-2022 years period. Publications in  English or at least with English abstract/summary were collected within primary sample for further preliminary  content-analysis. All articles collected for in-depth content-analysis were evaluated due to the text-mining, textidentification and text-extraction principles with further clusterization and systematization of outcomes at the  Microsoft Excel 2019 software (Microsoft Office, Microsoft, 2019). 
Results: After full reading of articles’ texts 28 of them were categorized as those containing new and/or unique  information, interpretations or facts, out of which 12 were cross-sectional online surveys, 4 were editorials, 7  were literature/systematic/clinical reviews, 1 was brief report, 1 was opinion article, 1 was ethical moment, 1  was advice article, and 1 was web-source. New challenges related with COVID-19 vaccination within dental field  are represented by personal hesitancy of dental professionals and students, which in turn associated with such  factors as provided information support, previous COVID-19 experience, fear of getting infected or transmit  disease to the patients or family members, fear of potential post-vaccination side-effects development, changes  of occupational status, and interaction within dental team. 
Conclusions: Further improvements of dental care field possible only after vaccination of dental professionals.  Vaccination of dentists is widening window of their possibilities regarding inclusion as members of COVID-19  vaccine’s delivery team and participation within “behaviorally informed strategies” and public motivational  programs, which in turn is aimed at amplification of positive willingness for COVID-19 vaccination among general  public.
Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccination, Dentistry