Determinants of preventive oral health behaviour among senior dental students in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: To study the association between oral health behaviour of senior dental students in Nigeria and their gender, age, knowledge of preventive care, and attitudes towards preventive dentistry. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered to 179 senior dental students in the six dental schools in Nigeria. The questionnaire obtained information on age, gender, oral self-care, knowledge of preventive dental care and attitudes towards preventive dentistry. Attending a dental clinic for check-up by a dentist or a classmate within the last year was defined as preventive care use. Students who performed oral self-care and attended dental clinic for check-ups were noted to have complied with recommended oral self-care. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: More male respondents agreed that the use of fluoride toothpaste was more important than the tooth brushing technique for caries prevention (P < 0.001). While the use of dental floss was very low (7.3%), more females were more likely to report using dental floss (p=0.03). Older students were also more likely to comply with recommended oral self-care (p<0.001). In binary regression models, respondents who were younger (p=0.04) and those with higher knowledge of preventive dental care (p=0.008) were more likely to consume sugary snacks less than once a day. CONCLUSION: Gender differences in the awareness of the superiority of using fluoridated toothpaste over brushing in caries prevention; and in the use of dental floss were observed. While older students were more likely to comply with recommended oral self-care measures, younger students with good knowledge of preventive dental care were more likely to consume sugary snacks less than once a day

Acceptability of maxillary major connectors in removable partial dentures

BACKGROUND: The choice of connector lies between plate, a bar or a combination of bars, which may cross the palate in various positions. Many opinions have been expressed concerning the acceptability to the patients of the various forms of palatal connectors but there have been few investigations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare subjective patients' reactions to three maxillary major connectors: metal bar, metal plate, and acrylic connectors and to establish the most acceptable and the least acceptable maxillary major connectors. METHODS: Fifteen consecutive patients attending the prosthetic out-patient clinic of Dental Center, University College Hospital, Ibadan who had never worn dentures were recruited into the study. Three dentures each with a different maxillary major connector design were fabricated for each patient. A questionnaire was administered to ascertain their reactions to each of the three denture designs. RESULTS: Fourteen patients (93.3%) preferred the denture with metal palatal bar major connector whereas only one patient preferred the denture with acrylic plate major connector design. No patient preferred the palatal metal plate connector design. CONCLUSIONS: The metal bar major connector was the most acceptable maxillary major connector while acrylic resin plate was more acceptable than metal plate maxillary major connector. It also confirmed the influence of connector design on patient acceptance of removable partial denture