282 research outputs found
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Access to and use of computers among clinical dental students of the University of Lagos.
No full textNo Abstrac
Psychiatric morbidity among dental patients attending a tertiary hospital in Lagos
No full textObjective: It has been noted that oral health conditions have significant relationships with mental illnesses. In Nigeria, a large number of individuals with psychological morbidity also visit dental health practitioners regularly and few psychopathological studies have been carried out to determine the prevalence of psychopathology in dental patients in Lagos. The aim of this study was to determine the general psychological wellbeing, symptoms of anxiety and depression among patients who were attending the dental clinic for restorative and oral surgery in Lagos.
Method: One hundred and three consecutive dental patients who were attending the dental clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos were recruited for this study. Patients were administered with the 12th version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
Result: One hundred and three patients (50 males and 53 females) aged 20-61 years (mean age 38.3+ 10.7 years) participated in the study. The reasons for attending the dental clinic ranged from unbearable pain 81(78.6%), filling of teeth 9(8.7%), extraction 6(5.8%), check-up 4(3.9%) and fixing of braces 3(3.0%). Subjects who scored more than 3 in the GHQ were 17.5 %. On the HADS scale, 28.2 % had a high score in anxiety while 14.6 % scored high in depression.
Conclusion: This study shows that a high percentage of dental patients also suffer from psychopathology especially anxiety and depression. These findings have been observed to constitute complex psycho-social problems with far reaching social and medical consequences among dental patients. The acquisition of psychotherapeutic tools by dental surgeons for assessing and managing dental patients with psychopathology will enhance the quality of practice and service delivery of dental surgeons
Demographic variations in the coping ability of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: implications for counseling
No full textObjective: To determine the coping ability of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) across demographic variations of gender, duration of living with HIV infection, marital status and living arrangements either with the family or alone.
Method: The research design adopted in this study was descriptive survey. The population consisted of all PLWHA in Nigeria. The sample comprised of 117 PLWHA attending clinic regularly at General Hospital Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria. The subjects had all been exposed to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). Only those who consented participated in the study. A structured questionnaire developed for the purpose of this research was used to collect data.
Result: Marital status, living arrangements and gender do not significantly influence coping ability of the PLWHAs (p>0.05); however duration of living with the infection had significant influence on the coping ability of PLWHAs (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The length of period of living with HIV/AIDS had a significant effect on the coping abilities of PLWHA (p< 0.05). The results also showed no significant difference in the coping ability of PLWHA by gender, marital status and living arrangements (p=0.05). Developing adaptive coping skills to deal with stress of living with HIV/AIDS may be a particularly effective strategy for improving overall health among the study population and not just on the medical needs
Cancrum nasalis: a case report
No full textCancrum nasalis, a variant of cancrum oris, is an oro-facial condition that is rarely reported in the literature. Predisposing factors include malnutrition, infection and reduced immunity. This paper reports a case of a 10 month-old child patient who presented with an isolated necrosis of the nose extending to the cutaneous part of the upper lip without oral manifestation, a rare clinical presentation. A maculo-papular rash which was diagnosed as measles preceeded the necrosis of the nose and the child was also seen to be malnourished at presentation. Laboratory investigations and clinical management of the condition are described. It is also suggested that the public should be continuosly educated on the importance of balanced diet and routine medical check for growing children
Smile aesthetics and malocclusion in advertising models on Nigerian billboards
No full textObjective: There is a growing influence of advertising media on the perception of dental appearance in the Nigerian society. This study examined the portrayal of malocclusion on advertising billboards that is directed at the Nigerian public
Method: A representative selection of 100 advertising models on billboards from three major Nigerian cities was investigated. The prevalence and severity of malocclusions observed including the median diastema, which is of cultural importance, were assessed using a modification of Aesthetic Component of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Intra-examiner calibration of all the smiles showed adequate agreement.
Result: It showed that the aesthetic scores were low for the majority of models (94%) indicating “no need or a borderline need” for treatment, whilst insignificant models (6%) exhibited a “definite need for treatment”. However, median diastema, a sign of personal beauty in this cultural setting did not feature prominently in the smile aesthetics.
Conclusion: The study concluded that the portrayal of occlusal disharmonies on models in billboards may not be generalized to the entire Nigerian population
Sensory nerve injury following impacted mandibular third molar extraction: the Lagos University Teaching Hospital experience.
No full textObjective: To investigate the prevalence and pattern of sensory nerve injuries after surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars.
Methods: A study of patients who required surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molars between October 2003 and May 2006 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) was carried out. Data collected from each patient included age, sex and the indication for extraction. Also collected were the angulation of the tooth and surgical difficulty as measured by the total time of surgery. All extractions were performed under local anaesthesia and the buccal guttering technique was used for all extractions. Postoperatively, any occurrences of sensory nerve injuries and the time it took for the patients to recover from it were recorded.
Result: A total of 340 impacted third molars were removed from 335 patients. There were 156 (46.5%) males and 179 (53.4%) females with a male female ratio of 1:1.2. The age ranged from 17 to 55 years with a mean of 26.63 ± 7.39 years. Fifty extractions (14.7%) of the 340 extractions had postoperative complications, of these 2.6% (9 patients) had sensory nerve defects postoperatively. There were five females (0.3% of total female populations) and four males (0.3% of male population). All cases of sensory nerve defects involved the inferior dental nerve. The incidence of inferior alveolar nerve paraesthesia was highest in the under 25 age group, the relationship to the age of patients was however not statistically significant (p = 0.87). Five (55.5%) of the cases with inferior alveolar nerve damage occurred with teeth in horizontal impactions (p = 0.018). The total time of surgery was also statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of sensory nerve injury (p = 0.001).
Conclusion: Sensory nerve injury was significantly associated with both surgical difficulty and horizontal pattern of impactions
Psychological distress and job involvement among dental surgeons in Lagos, Nigeria.
No full textObjective: Studies on job involvement and mental health have mainly been carried out among Caucasian populations. Similar studies are lacking in Nigeria.This study was aimed at investigating psychological distress and job involvement among dental surgeons working in Lagos, Nigeria.
Method: Thirty-eight dental surgeons working at the two teaching hospitals in Lagos State, Nigeria were invited to participate in this study. The dental surgeons completed three selfadministered questionnaires, a questionnaire on demographics, Job Involvement th Inventory (JII) and the 12 version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).Results: Among the dental surgeons surveyed, 18.42% had a GHQ score of 4 and above which indicated that they were at increased likelihood of having a psychological disorder. As regards job involvement, 66.67% of the dental surgeons scored high on the JII; this shows that the dental surgeons were poorly involved emotionally in their jobs.Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that dental surgeons working in Lagos State manifest with certain degrees of psychopathology and majority of them were poorly emotionally involved in their job. There is a need for dental surgeons to acquire management science training and stress management skills Soenhance service delivery
The relationship between maximal mouth opening agd age, height and weight in Nigerians.
No full textObjective: To establish the range of maximal mouth opening in Nigerians and explore it\u27s relationship with age, height and weight.
Methods: The interincisal distance in five hundred and one randomly selected healthy Nigerians between the ages of 17 and 69 years was measured using a disposable paper bite gauge. The iid measurements were taken with the subjects standing erect (basic head position) and with the head supported by the wall which had been marked for the height measurements. During both height and iid measurements the head was positioned such that the Frankfurt plane was parallel to the floor. The weight of the subjects was measured with a digital scale.
Results: Majority (66.3%) of the subjects were in the 3 decade of life (21 30 years). The average Maximal mouth opening (iid) in males was significantly higher than that of females (54.19mm SD 6.73 versus 48.96mm SD 6.36; P < 0.001). The maximal mouth opening increased with increasing age, height and weight in both genders.
Conclusion: The normal range of maximal mouth opening (iid) in Nigerians was similar to those reported in Swedish, Greek, Nepalese and Japanese populations. Further investigations with larger sample and the use of more advanced instruments (e.g. the opto-electric jaw movement recording system) is highly recommended
