Quality of Records Keeping by Undergraduate Dental Students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: Recording the interaction between a patient and the dentist is of primary importance in dental practice. The completeness of recordings of undergraduate students, often inadequate, has been found to subsequently impact on the quality of dental care offered by professionals. Once identified, correcting the inadequacies has also been shown to improve the quality of dental practice. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the quality of records keeping by dental students in Ibadan, Nigeria.Method: A retrospective review of records of patients seen by dental students, at the clinics of the dental school in Ibadan, Nigeria, over a six months period was conducted. The charts were reviewed for: demographic data, medical and dental history, clinical findings, diagnosis, treatmentplan and note on informed consent. Assessment of the quality of data obtained was done using a modified CRABEL’s scoring system.Results: A total of 318 case files were retrieved for this study. The median modified CRABEL score was 95%, with a range of 65 to 95%. Eighty-two recordings (25.2%) had a score < 90%, while 236 recordings (74.2%) had a score > 90%. The most frequently unrecorded data was written consent in all the charts, followed by procedure done with the documentation absent in 20.4%. All the supervisors signed at the end of the consultation.Conclusion: The quality of records keeping by dental undergraduates is fair but there is a need to emphasize deficient areas and improve upon the quality of record keeping.Keywords: dental record, students, CRABEL scor

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

Omics-based molecular techniques in oral pathology centred cancer: Prospect and challenges in Africa

: The completion of the human genome project and the accomplished milestones in the human proteome project; as well as the progress made so far in computational bioinformatics and “big data” processing have contributed immensely to individualized/personalized medicine in the developed world.At the dawn of precision medicine, various omics-based therapies and bioengineering can now be applied accurately for the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and risk stratifcation of cancer in a manner that was hitherto not thought possible. The widespread introduction of genomics and other omics-based approaches into the postgraduate training curriculum of diverse medical and dental specialties, including pathology has improved the profciency of practitioners in the use of novel molecular signatures in patient management. In addition, intricate details about disease disparity among diferent human populations are beginning to emerge. This would facilitate the use of tailor-made novel theranostic methods based on emerging molecular evidences

Management of halitosis secondary to periodontal disease: report of four cases

Halitosis is an offensive odour emanating from the oral cavity and it is a common clinical condition. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the importance of the correct diagnosis of the type of halitosis in order to achieve a successful management. The four cases reported in this study revealed that a cause of the halitosis can be found most of the time following thorough examination. Elimination of the cause or source of the mal-odour eventually eliminates the halitosis. Dental practitioners should therefore be cautious in making a diagnosis of pseudo-halitosis and halitophobia which are very rare conditions and they should patients should be referred for expert management. Key words: Halitosis, Halitophobia, Pseudo-halitosis, management, diagnosi

Periodontal status and treatment needs of primary school teachers in the absence of formal school oral health programme

Objective: Information Is sparse about the periodontal health of teachers who play Important roles in prevention of oral diseases in schools, especially in developing countries where the promotion of oral health In school programmes Is still sub-optimal. The objective of the study was to evaluate the periodontal health status and periodontal treatment needs of primary school teachers In a country lacking formal school-based oral health programmes.Method: This was a descriptive survey In which lntraoral examination was conducted on 407 primary school teachers. Recordings on the oral hygiene status using OHl-S, bleeding on probing, periodontal pocketing and treatment needs with CPITN and tooth moblllty were obtained by a trained and calibrated examiner. Information on sociodemographic characteristics was also sought. Data were analysed using SPSS and the level of significance set atp<0.05Result: None of the teachers had healthy perlodontium, 3 bled to probing. 284 had calculus accumulation and 109 had shallow pockets while 11 had deep periodontal pocketing. Majority (80.6%) of the teachers had poor oral hygiene and 43 ( 10.6%) had one or more mobile teeth. A higher  proportion of rural based teachers had periodontal pockets compared to those in urban areas (38.5% vs. 26.7%, p = 0.026). Older teachers were more likely to have mobile teeth (p = 0.002). There were significant positive correlations between OHI-S, CPITN score and number of mobile teeth.Conclusion: Periodontal disease Is highly prevalent among primary school teachers In the country with calculus accumulation being the predominant feature. The periodontal treatment need of most of the teachers Is In the form of oral prophylaxis and non-surgical periodontal treatment.Key words: Perlodontal status; treatment need; primary school teachers; developing country: oral healt

Simultaneious occurrence of periodontal disease and dental caries in Ibadan seconday school children

No Abstract

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

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