The limitations in clinical teaching, learning and practice of conservative amalgam cavity preparations in developing countries

Amalgam is the cheapest and the most widely used intra-coronal posterior restorative material in the world.Therefore, the teaching, learning and practice of conservative amalgam cavity preparations cannot be ignored by any dental school. Since the introduction of the principles and methods of cavity preparation by G.V Black in 1908, there have been a series of modifications in terms of designs and the underlining principles.The “extension for prevention” dogma by G.V Black had been jettisoned while the modern concept of conservatism or minimal cavity preparation has been well embraced by dental practitioners. However, there are some limitations in clinical teaching of conservative amalgam cavity preparation which include late patient presentation with large carious lesions, lack of appropriate conservative instruments and restorative materials. This article discusses limitations in teaching, learning and practice of conservative amalgam cavity preparation in the developing countries

A preliminary study of psychological pain among patients attending the dental clinic of a tertiary hospital

Objective: 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

Psychological distress and job involvement among dental surgeons in Lagos, Nigeria.

Objective: 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