Omoigberai Bashiru Braimoh

Utilization of dental services among civil servants in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Civil servants are adults that cut across all ages, educational status, and social class. This study describes and compares dental service utilization among federal and state civil servants in Port Harcourt and identifies the determinants and barriers to the utilization of dental services among these groups. Materials and Methods: This study was a comparative cross-sectional study carried out among Federal and State civil servants in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study units were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using pretested self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: A total of 638 participants comprising of 313 and 325 civil servants from the federal and state civil service respectively, completed and returned the questionnaires.Only 143 (22.4%) of the participants had visited the dentist in the past 1-year, this is made up of 80 (25.6%) federal and 63 (19.4%) state civil servants. Most of the federal workers 55 (68.8%) and state workers 45 (71.4%) had visited the dentist based on need. Participants with tertiary education were significantly more likely to utilize dental services (P = 0.009). The reasons for nonutilization of dental services reported among the respondents were no need for treatment 59%, cost of treatment 20%, being scared 13.5%, and fear of infection 10.3%. Conclusion: Dental visits were based on the need for treatment. Whereas education was a determinant of dental service utilization, perceived lack of treatment and cost of treatment constituted barriers to utilization of dental services.

Knowledge of dental practitioners on the management of oral conditions in pregnancy in South Nigeria

Objective: Dental care is often avoided and misunderstood in pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of dentists on the provision of dental care during pregnancy. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study among 76 dental practitioners in two Tertiary Health Institutions in Nigeria. The study participants were approached at their duty posts and informed consent was obtained before administering the questionnaire. Data were collected using pretested self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20.0 (New York, United States). Results: Forty-seven (63.5%) of the participants were registrars, 48 (64.9%) were more than 35 years, and 40 (54.1%) had practiced for more than 5 years. Majority, 61 (82.4%) of the participants were willing to provide dental treatment during pregnancy. Registrars, 39 (64%) were significantly (P = 0.03) more likely to provide dental care during pregnancy than house officers. While 44 (59.5%) of dentists knew the best time to take dental radiograph was the second trimester of pregnancy, 48 (64.9%) knew dental radiographs could be taken in any trimester of pregnancy. Dentists who knew it was safe to use composite and amalgam during pregnancy and perform root canal treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy were 56 (75.6%), 59 (79.5%) and 13 (17.6%), respectively. Conclusion: Though the knowledge of the dentists on dental care during pregnancy was good, this need to be improved upon. Therefore, there is a need to develop guidelines and train dentists on dental care during pregnancy.

Oral hygiene practices and factors influencing the choice of oral hygiene materials among undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine oral hygiene practices among university students; establish any association between oral hygiene practices and sociodemographic variables and find out the factors that may influence the choice of oral hygiene products in this group. Materials and Methods: Self-administered questionnaire containing information on age, gender, material used for tooth cleaning, and frequency of tooth cleaning was completed by the students in their hostels. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Test of significance was carried out using Chi-square and logistic regression analysis. Association was considered statistically significant when P ≤ 0.05. Results: In the present study, all the participants irrespective of the age, gender, and field of study used toothbrush and toothpaste as the oral hygiene tool. The use of dental floss, mouth rinse, and interproximal brush was not recorded in this study. About 24% of the participants reported using fluoride-containing toothpastes. Cleaning the teeth twice daily was significantly related to age (P = 0.046), gender (P = 0.01), and field of study (P = 0.032). Logistic regression analysis shows that the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants and their frequency of tooth cleaning was statistically significant. The cost was the major factor influencing the selection of oral hygiene tools. Conclusion: The oral hygiene practices of the participants were suboptimal. Less than two-third of the sample cleaned their teeth twice daily. Age, gender, and field of study were significant determinants of oral hygiene practice. The major factor which influenced the selection of toothpaste and toothbrush was the cost.

Dentin hypersensitivity among undergraduates in a university community

Background and Aim: There is limited data on dentin hypersensitivity (DH) among young adults in Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and trigger factors associated with DH among young adults in a university community in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 360 young adults, 188 males and 172 females, aged 18-33 years. All individuals answered questions regarding demography, self-reported dentin sensitivity, trigger factors, action taken, and impact of DH on quality of life. Statistical analysis used descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test. Results: The prevalence of DH was 228 (63.3%) among the surveyed population and was significantly higher in females as compared to males (P = 0.03). All the participants who reported DH were right-handed. Among the participants with DH, majority 139 (61.0%) have not taken any action. The major precipitant for the DH was a cold drink 78 (34.2%). Of the 228 who experienced DH, 92 (40.3%) indicated eating as the precipitant, 76 (33.3%) indicated tooth brushing and 22 (9.6%) indicated talking as the precipitant. Approximately, 30% of the participants expressed unhappiness due to tooth sensitivity. Individuals with functional and psychological disturbance were significantly more likely to visit a dentist. Conclusion: The prevalence of DH found in this study was higher than previously reported, suggesting an increase in the levels of sensitivity within the general population. All the participants were right-handed and left side of the mouth was the most commonly affected.

A survey of dental students on global oral health issues in Nigeria.

Objectives: This study seeks to investigate to what extent are students conversant with global oral health initiatives and policies, students’ willingness to volunteer service at international setting or developing countries and the need for global oral health course in Nigeria. Methods: Final year dental students in two Nigerian Universities were surveyed for this study. The students voluntarily completed the global oral health information questionnaire in a classroom before a scheduled lecture. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic 20. Results: All the final year students participated in the survey. All the students agreed that they need to be taught course on global oral health and would consider volunteering their dental skills and expertise in an international setting or developing country. Only 4.5% of the students knew the meaning of the basic package of oral care (BPOC) and none of the surveyed students could correctly name the three components of BPOC. Whereas only 18.2% could identify World Dental Federation and World Health Organization as the bodies that developed global oral health goals for the year 2000, none of the students could correctly list the three components of global oral health goals for the year 2000. Conclusion: This study concludes that a gap exists in the knowledge of students on global oral health matters and recommends that the curricula of schools be constantly reviewed in line with current trends in policies and practices.

Caries Distribution, Prevalence, and Treatment Needs among 12–15-Year-Old Secondary School Students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Objective. There is a change in the trends and distribution of dental caries in established and nonestablished market economies. The aim of this study was to describe caries distribution, prevalence, and treatment needs among school children in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Materials and Methods. The study was a cross-sectional survey of students between the ages of 12 and 15 years. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and clinical oral examination. Analysis of data was done using statistical package for social science version 20.0. Association between variables was tested using chi-square, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Results. The study population consisted of 195 school children of mean age years. The prevalence of dental caries was 15.4% ( ). The mean DMFT score for the entire group was . Dental caries occurred more significantly ( ) on the mandible (66.7%) than on the maxilla (33.3%) and was significantly ( ) more prevalent on the first molars (66.7%) than on the second molars (26.6%). Conclusion. The number of untreated dental caries was high and the restorative index was low among the students. The overall caries prevalence and mean DMFT were low even when compared to other studies in similar populations in Nigeria.

Pattern of Tooth Extraction among Adult Patients Attending a General Dental Practice in Benin-City

objective : To determine the prevalence and pattern of tooth extraction among adults attending a dental practice in Benin-City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods : This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a General dental practice clinic in Uselu, Benin City between January 2006 and December 2008. Results : Tooth extraction constituted one-third (33.4%) of the dental procedures rendered during the study period. Periodontal disease (45%) and caries (32.6%) were the main reasons for extraction. Other reasons for tooth extraction in descending order were impacted tooth (17.5%), endodontic reasons (1.5%), orthodontic reasons (1.2%), tooth in fracture line (1.0%), trauma (0.6%), supernumeraries (0.4%) and prosthetic reasons (0.2%). Molars constituted 95.3% of all extracted teeth with first molar predominating (40.1%). The prevalence of tooth extraction was highest among 27-36 years age group and the main reason for extraction in this age group was impaction (47.8%). There were more teeth extracted among females than males. More teeth were extracted on lower right quadrant of the mouth. Conclusion : Tooth extraction was the single most commonly performed dental procedure in this study. The data from this study in conjunction with available data from government healthcare institutions would serve as a veritable tool in the development of success oriented preventive strategies towards maintaining natural dentition and preventing avoidable tooth loss.