Effect of Social Class on the Prevalence and Severity of Periodontal Disease

Objectives: This study is aimed at assessing the influence of socio-economic status on the severity of periodontal disease.Materials and Methods: A one year retrospective study of 298 patients whohad been treated at the periodontics clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan was conducted. Case file records were reviewed and information on patients’ bio-data, occupation and periodontal health status as indicated by the plaque and gingival indices were retrieved. The patients were categorized into various socio-economic classes, utilizing the occupational strata devised by Famuyiwa et al. The association between periodontal health and socio-economic classes of patients was statistically assessed using Chi-square tests (

How valid are the psychometric properties of the oral health impact profile-14 measure in adult dental patients in Ibadan, Nigeria?

BACKGROUND: The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) is the most widely used quality of life (QoL) measure to evaluate the influence of oral diseases on individuals. QoL measures have been noted to be context and environment specific, and there is a need to cross-culturally adapt a scale before its introduction into any community. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties, validity and internal consistency of the OHIP-14 measure in an adult patient population in Ibadan, Nigeria.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted over a four-month period on 204 adult patients using OHIP-14 structured questionnaire, global self-report indicator of oral conditions and perceived treatment need. Oral examinations were performed to assess periodontal status, caries  experience and attachment loss. Data were analyzed using SPSS and p-value for statistical significance was set at < 0.05.Results: A total of 204 patients participated in the study with a mean OHIP score of 11.2 (± 9.8). OHIP scores were not related to the  sociodemographic characteristics. Perception of need for treatment was greater among those who reported impacts on their QoL (89.3% vs. 14.3%, p < 0.001). The OHIP scores correlated negatively with global self rating of oral health status (rho = -0.23, p < 0.01). Higher OHIP scores were  associated with having carious teeth (p = 0.023). The Cronbach’s alpha for the 14 inventory items ranged from 0.857 to 0.871.CONCLUSION: The OHIP-14 measure showed good psychometric properties with satisfactory validity and internal consistency in adult patients in  Ibadan, Nigeria.Keywords: Oral health, quality of life, OHIP-14, validity, internal  consistenc

Periodontal Condition and Treatment Needs of Some Pregnant Women in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: Periodontal diseases had been reported to be worse in the presence of hormonal imbalance as seen during pregnancy, which if that is the case, should resolve following childbirth when the hormonal level of the women should have reverted to normal.Subjects and Methods: Periodontal health of 345 pregnant women was assessed once during pregnancy and at 14th week following their childbirth. The clinical variant of community periodontal index of treatment needs probe was used in the assessment. Results: During pregnancy, 167/345 (48.4%) of the women had deep pockets, 178/345 (51.6%) had shallow pockets. After childbirth, 5/345 (1.5%) had healthy periodontium, 25/345 (7.2%) had calculus and 7/345 (2.0%) had deep pockets. All of the respondents required oral hygiene instructions (OHI) and prophylaxis and 167/345 (48.4%) required complex treatment during pregnancy. After childbirth, 340/345 (98.5%) of the women required OHI and prophylaxis. Despite the great need for dental treatment among the respondents, majority never sought any treatment as 308/345 (89.3%) of the respondents had never visited a dentist before the study.Conclusion: The fact that the deep pocket reduced drastically following childbirth shows that it was not a true pocket. The high unmet treatment needs among the respondents require a concerted effort from dentists and policy makers in order to enlighten the women, especially those of child bearing age concerning the need for preventive dental visitation.Keywords: Periodontal condition, Post.partum period, Pregnancy, Treatment need

Could Periodontitis Affect Time to Conception?

Background: Chronic periodontitis is gaining increasing prominence as a potential influnce on systemic health. Time to conception has been recently investigated in relation to chronic periodontitis among Caucasians. The authors set out to replicate the study among Nigerian pregnant women. Aim: The etiology of many medical conditions have been linked with the state of the oral health and one of such is the time to conception (TTC)among women. This study was aimed to assess the effect of periodontitis on TTC.Subjects and Methods: A cross.sectional study in a hospital setting involving 58 fertility clinic attendees and 70 pregnant controls using the simplified oral hygiene index, community periodontal index (CPI) and matrix metalloproteinase.8 immunoassay. Statistical analysis used included Spearmanfs rank order correlation statistic, Z.statistic and logistic regression.Results: Good oral hygiene correlated with shorter TTC (<1 year) than fair oral hygiene, but not statistically significant. The odds of increased conception were higher with CPI (odds ratio [OR]: 0.482, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.259.0.895, P = 0.02), periodontitis risk (OR 0.157, 95% CI 0.041.0.600, P < 0.01) and age (OR 0.842, 95% CI 0.756.0.938, P < 0.01). Conclusion: Chronic periodontitis was positively associated with increased TTC in the present study. The authors are recommending that women in child bearing age should be encouraged to have regular preventive dental check.ups in order to maintain good oral and periodontal health.Keywords: Fertility, Oral hygiene, Periodontitis, Time to conceptio

A longitudinal study of the prevalence of gingival bleeding among selected Nigerian pregnant women

Objective: 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.Keywords: Bleeding, gingiva, pregnancy, womenNig Dent J Vol 20 No. 1 Jan - June 201

Oro-dental manifestation of leukaemia in Nigerians

Nigerian Quarterly Journal of Hospital Medicine Vol.10(1) 2000: 29-3

A comparative study of the oral hygiene status of smokers and non‑smokers in Ibadan, Oyo state

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of tobacco smoking on gingival health and the oral hygiene status of respondents. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional survey of 213 adults from three communities in the Ibadan North local government was carried out. Respondents were divided into two groups comprising of 117 smokers (cases) and 96 non‑smokers (control). Intra oral examination was done using the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI‑S) and Gingival index (GI). Results: The mean age of the smokers was 31.2 ± 12.6 years and that of the non‑smokers 32.8 ± 9.5 years. The mean Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI‑S) was 1.15 ± 0.51 for the non‑smokers and 2.19 ± 0.62 for the smokers (P < 0.05). The mean GI was 1.06 ± 0.55 for the non‑smokers and 1.62 ± 0.58 for the smokers (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The study shows that smoking is associated with increased severity of gingival disease. It is, therefore, recommended that smokers should be encouraged to visit a dentist for preventive procedure more regularly than the non‑smokers and better still, smokers should be encouraged to quit smoking as gingival disease is not without consequences if allowed to persist.Keywords: Cigarette smoking, dental, gingivitis, gingiva, oral hygiene status, periodontal, smokers, statusNigerian Medical Journal | Vol. 54 | Issue 4 | July-August | 201

Guidelines for periodontal care and follow-up during orthodontic treatment in adolescents and young adults

Aggressive periodontitis is characterized by non-contributory medical history, rapid attachment loss and bone destruction and familial aggregation of cases. Aggressive periodontitis (both localized and generalized) is usually diagnosed in a young population. This is frequently the age that an orthodontic care is provided to this population. The aim of the present paper is to draw guidelines for periodontal evaluation and monitoring prior to and during active orthodontic treatment. Strict adherence to these guidelines as a routine protocol for periodontal examination prior, during and following orthodontic treatment may dramatically decrease the severity and improve the prognosis of patients with aggressive periodontitis in orthodontic clinics