282 research outputs found
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Availability of non- and low-fluoride paediatric toothpastes in Nigeria: a need for indigenous affordable formulations
No full textObjective: Some studies in Nigeria have shown a high prevalence of fluorosis. This study looks at toothpastes manufactured locally to determine the availability and affordability of low- fluoride paediatric toothpastes in Nigeria.Method: Toothpastes manufactured locally in Nigeria which bear the Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) approval number were purchased from open markets, reputable supermarkets and pharmacies. The cost price and fluoride content were recorded for each of the toothpastes.Result: Twenty-one toothpastes manufactured locally in Nigeria were identified. Thirteen toothpastes had sodium fluoride as the active fluoride compound while five had sodium monofluorophosphate. Seventeen toothpastes had optimum fluoride content (1100 – 1450 ppm fluoride or 0.306 – 0.32% w/w sodium fluoride or 0.76 – 0.85% w/w Sodium monofluorophosphate), one had low-fluoride content (500ppm or 0.1106% w/w sodium fluoride) while three were non-fluoride toothpastes. The low-fluoride toothpaste was designated as paediatric while the non-fluoride toothpastes were herbal formulations. A cost analysis of the toothpastes showed that the lone paediatric low-fluoride toothpaste was sold at more than three times the cost of the optimum-fluoride toothpastes.Conclusion: The majority of toothpastes manufactured locally in Nigeria have optimum fluoride content, the non-fluoride toothpastes are herbal formulations while only one toothpaste is a low-fluoride paediatric toothpaste. The present cost of the paediatric toothpaste makes it unaffordable and unavailable to the average child in Nigeria. Companies which manufacture toothpastes locally are encouraged to produce more brands of paediatric low-fluoride toothpastes for the Nigerian market at affordable prices.
 
Gender differences in oral health attitudes and behaviour among Nigerian clinical dental students
No full textObjective: This study aims to use the modified Hiroshima University Dental Behavior Inventory (HU-DBI) to determine the differences in oral health attitudes and behaviour between male and female clinical dental students at the clinical level in University of Benin.Method: This study included 141 clinical dental students made up of 85 males and 56 females of the University of Benin. Participation was voluntary and all participants remained anonymous. Demographic information was obtained including age, gender and years of study. The duration of study was from February to May 2010.A modified English version of HU-DBI survey which consists of 22 1temswith dichotomous responses (yes-no) was used in this study.Result: Of the total 154 clinical (4th, 5th and 6th years of study) dental students, a total of 141 clinical dental students participated in the study by completing the questionnaire giving a response rate of 91.56%. The age of the students ranged from 18 to 35 years with a mean age of 25.26 + 3.5 years. Statistically significant differences (p <0.05) were found between males and females dental students for items: 2 (I have been to a dentist office before), 14 (I worry about having bad breath), 17 (I eat a lot of refined sugar containing snacks in-between meals) and 19 (I worry about the colour of my teeth).The total mean score between male and female dental students was significant (P< 0.05).Conclusion: The results from this study were in agreement with studies in other countries showing that there are gender differences in some aspects of oral health attitudes and behaviour, and as a matter of fact, improving professional behaviour of the dental students is needed to be improved so as to improve their oral health attitude in order to serve as a positive model for their patients, families and friends.
 
Multiple maxillofacial fractures in a patient undergoing orthodontic treatment: a case report
No full textSevere maxillofacial injuries among patients receiving orthodontic treatment are very rare. When they occur, they can be life threatening with several complications which include neurologic deficits, malunion of fracture segments secondary to delay in reduction and immobilization of fracture segments and massive blood loss. Delay in treatment of such maxillofacial injuries in the presence of other life threatening injuries predisposes the patient to residual and minor malocclusion. The interdisciplinary management of injuries sustained by an orthodontic patient and the challenges associated with its management are highlighted in this report.Reduction and immobilization was carried out under general anaesthesia using an arch bar in the mandibular arch. Direct bonded brackets in the maxillary arch with additional eyelet wires were used in the management of the fractures. An acceptable reduction of bilateral parasympseal fractures was obtained with available intermaxillary fixation. There was some residual and minor malocclusion attributed to the delay in treatment and possibly the method used.A multi-disciplinary team approach for the management of maxillofacial fractures in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances is suggested. Orthodontic treatment with surgical involvement has been found to improve both facial aesthetics and occlusal function
Restorative and orthodontic interdisciplinary management of an adult patient using modified Hawley appliance: a case report
No full textThis report presents a case of an adult female patient who had undergone orthodontic treatment to correct her malocclusion was referred to the Restorative Dentistry Clinic at the time when her brackets were due for debonding. The patient had presented with spacing of the anterior segments of both upper and lower arches with the upper canines in crossbite. At the end of the orthodontic correction of the occlusion the patient was referred to the restorative dentist for replacement of missing molars in the upper and lower arches. Fixed bridge prosthesis, implant-retained crowns or removable dentures were the treatment options for tooth replacement. Due to financial challenges the first two options were unavailable to the patient. The need to wear retainers made it impractical for the patient to be provided the third option of removable dentures. A modified design of Hawley retainers was then made for the patient that had pink acrylic bases and acrylic stock teeth to replace missing teeth. Thus, the functions of retainer and removable denture were combined in one appliance. The modified Hawley appliance designed for the patient in this study is a typical example of interdisciplinary management by the restorative dentist and the orthodontist to give appropriate care to the adult orthodontic patient
A preliminary study of psychological pain among patients attending the dental clinic of a tertiary hospital
No full textObjective: Dental practitioners frequently encounter individuals who suffer from psychological pain at the dental clinics. Most dentists do not have the training or the instrument to recognise and manage psychological pain associated with dental treatment. This study was carried out to determine the level of psychological pain among dental patients visiting the dental clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
Method: One hundred and twenty five patients who attended the dental clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria were invited to take part in the study. They completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, Psychache Scale (PAS) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) in order to determine their levels of psychological pain and anxiety.
Result: Of the total respondents, 43% were males and 57% females, mean age 30.2 years (SD=10.7, ranging from 15-80), 74.2% were married and 22.5% single. With regards to psychological pain and anxiety, 31.9% scored high in the PAS, indicating probable psychological pain while 25.8%, 19.4% and 54.8% were detected to suffer from mild, moderate and severe anxiety as detected by HARS.
Conclusion: The finding from this study demonstrated that Nigerian dental patients also suffer from psychological pain and various degrees of dental anxiety. Therefore there is a need for Nigerian dental surgeons to acquire some knowledge of mental health in order to recognise these psychopathologies among their patients
Natal and neonatal teeth: Literature review and report of seven cases in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital
No full textTeeth that are present in newborn infants are called "natal teeth" while teeth that erupt within the first 4 weeks after birth are called "neonatal teeth". The incidence of the appearance of natal and neonatal teeth has been reported to be between one in every 1000 and one in every 6000 births. Natal teeth may be uncomfortable for a nursing mother and present a risk of aspiration and swallowing by the infant if they are loose. Also, they may cause irritation and trauma to the infant\u27s soft tissues. Under these circumstances, these teeth need to be extracted. This paper presents 7 cases of natal and neonatal teeth. Three of the cases presented with natal molar teeth which are rare. The clinical features, complications and management are discussed
Oral health practices and self-assessed dental status of an adult population in Benin City, Nigeria
No full textObjective: To determine the self- assessed oral health status and dental practices among an adult population in Benin City.
Method: The cross sectional convenience study involved 190 Christian religious leaders aged 24 - 73 years, comprising 155 (81.6%) males 35 (18.4%) females. Data was collected by means of self administered questionnaire which included their personal characteristics previous dental visits, oral self-care behaviour, halitosis.
Result: Twenty five percent of the pastors had experienced toothache; only 3.2% had visited a dentist within 6 months prior to the study, 7.4% in more than a year but less than 3 years and, 67.9% had never been to a dentist. Only 25.3% visited for routine checkup and 8.4% felt they had bad breath out of which 14.7% thought it affected their communication with others. However, 69.5% rated their oral health as good.Furthermore, 81.1% used toothbrush and paste, 16.3% a combination of toothbrush and chewing stick, while 51.1% cleaned their mouths once daily and 43.2% twice daily. Only 15.8% had done scaling and polishing. While 47.4% claimed to have previously received instruction on maintenance of proper oral health.
Conclusion: The findings from this study indicated a low utilization of dental services and significant need for oral health education. The role of the subjects who participated in this study stake holders in assisting to improve the health of members of the oragnisation and local community is advocated
Evaluation of accuracy of OraQuick® rapid test in detecting HIV antibodies in saliva of Nigerians
No full textObjective: The accuracy of OraQuick® rapid test in detecting HIV 1 & 2 antibodies in saliva is evaluated against the blood EIA benchmark tests with confirmatory testing, against which OraQuick® accuracy is determined.Method: Paired samples of saliva and blood from 281 Nigerians were tested for HIV antibodies, and compared for sensitivity and specificity. Subjects included in the study were those who had a complete test, which included saliva test with OraQuick® rapid test, serologic test using conventional Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA), and confirmatory serological test.Result: From the 281 subjects who completed the oral fluid-based OraQuick® tests & EIA with confirmatory tests, 192 were seropositive and 89 seronegative for HIV 1 & 2 antibodies. The sensitivity (95% CI) of OraQuick® was 98.96% (97.98% to 99.96%) and specificity was 100% thereby comparing favorably with serum EIA with benchmark sensitivity of 100% and specificity (95% CI) of 96.63% (95.61 to 97.56).Conclusion: Saliva based OraQuick® rapid assays for detecting HIV antibodies using oral fluids give accurate sensitivity and specificity results comparable to EIA results with serum samples. They are more acceptable, easier to use and not invasive
Misconceptions about oral health among a group of Nigerian primary school teachers
No full textObjective: To identify the various misconceptions that still exist among teachers about oral health practices and their incorrect ideas about dental conditions.
Method: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out between May and September 2008 among 640 primary school teachers in Oredo Local Government area of Benin City, Nigeria. Data collection was by the use of self –administered questionnaire.
Result: More than a third of the respondents (39.6%) felt that tooth decay is caused by worms, 0.3% felt it is caused by black magic. While 11.9% felt gingival bleeding is caused by worms. Tooth loss was considered a natural process by 43% of the respondents and 53.1% did not feel it is possible to keep all the teeth in the dentition for life. In addition, 23.2% did not consider tooth loss a serious health problem. Traditional medicine was used for toothache and gingival bleeding in 5.0% and 2.6% of cases respectively, while 6.5% reported self medication. Improvement of oral hygiene by toothbrushing was considered ineffective in the prevention of gum disease by 15.3% of the respondents.
Conclusion: This survey revealed that a few misconceptions still exist among teachers about what constitutes appropriate oral health practices and correct knowledge of oral diseases and remedies. These misconceptions should be corrected to prevent the teachers form impacting incorrect knowledge on the children they teach. In service training of the teachers in the area of oral health is therefore recommended
A longitudinal study of the prevalence of gingival bleeding among selected Nigerian pregnant women
No full textObjective: To assess the prevalence of gingival bleeding following gentle periodontal probing during pregnancy as compared to after child birth in the same set of women.
Method: Three hundred and eighty-four consecutive pregnant women in third trimester were selected at the antenatal clinics of Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, and the University College Hospital, both in the city of Ibadan, south western part of Nigeria. An 18-item questionnaire was administered on the subjects to obtain information on their use of oral contraceptive prior to getting pregnant, their experiencing gingival bleeding at any point in time before or during pregnancy and their methods of oral hygiene procedure. This was followed by intra-oral examination to assess the presence or absence of gingival bleeding, which was determined by gentle probing of the gingival crevice with a Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) probe. The appearance of bleeding within 10 seconds indicates a positive score. The same set of women were re-examined at two other occasions following child birth.
Result: Seventy-two (20.9%) of the subjects reported that they had been experiencing gingival bleeding during toothbrushing before the study. Two-hundred and sixty-one of the subjects bled during pregnancy and this reduced to 192 and 127 at the 6th and 14th week post-partum examination respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the gingival bleeding on probing during pregnancy in comparison to the 6th and 14th week postpartum periods respectively (p = 0.000).
Conclusion: The study shows that pregnancy must have played a major role in the tendency for the gingiva to bleed as there was statistically significant reduction in gingival bleeding following parturition