Preliminary Studies on the effect of processing methods on the quality of three commonly consumed marine fishes in Nigeria

Three commonly available species of marine fishes in Nigeria, Clupea harengus, Scomber scombrus and Trachurus trachurus were subjected to boiling, frying and roasting and their effects on the fisheswere observed. Frying reduced the protein content for all the fish types with the effect very pronounced on Clupea harengus and Trachurus trachurus but made fish less susceptible to spoilage. Fresh and fried C. harengus had 62.7 % and 10.6 % protein content respectively, while T. trachurus had 57.3 % and 9.18 %, respectively. The ash content reduced with all the treatment methods for all the fish species except for boiled Scomber scombrus. Boiling in water gave fish with the best nutritive value overall. Scomber scombrus was the most nutritious (in terms of protein and mineral content) of the three and the nutritive value did not diminish with the method of preparation. It is also the mostpalatable in terms of flavour and texture. Trachurus trachurus had the least protein value and the protein was very unstable to the treatment methods. The third species, Clupea harengus is also rich inprotein but the protein content reduced with frying. Frying gave a better result when long-time preservation is of interest but boiling was the better processing method when preservation of nutrient is the focus. The results also showed that Scomber scombrus had the highest oil content (30.30%) followed by Clupea harengus (12.70%) while Trachurus trachurus has the lowest oil content (12.25) and irrespective of the processing method, the order remains unchanged. This work also shows that the effect of a treatment type on a fish sample is dependent on the fish species. The oils obtained from the fried fish samples had the least acid values in all cases, while the oils from the roasted samples had the highest saponification value

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

The Influence of Demographic Factors and Medical Conditions on Patients Complaints with Complete Dentures

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequent complete denture complaints and to investigate the influence of age, gender and systemic disease conditions on the complaints.Methodology: This was a retrospective study in which information on the demographic data, medical and dental history of complete denture patients were obtained from their case records. Also the type of complaints and adjustment made to the denture at review appointments were recorded. All data generated were entered into IBM-Compatible microcomputer and analysed using the statistical packages of socialsciences (SPSS) version 15. Chi-square test was used to test for statistical significance.Result: Eighty-two case records of complete denture patients were reviewed. Fourty-six of the patients were male while 36 were female. The age ranged between 40 and 90 years with mean age of 69.10 (SD=10.6) years. Fifty-one (62.2%) patients had complaints with their dentures during a week review appointment. Pain was the most common complaint 23 (28%), followed by lack of retention, 12 (14.6%). Eighteen (21.9%) patients had systemic medical conditions.Conclusion: There was no statistically significant relationship between patient age, gender, systemic health and denture complaints; but statistically significant relationship exist between types of denture, denture faults and complaints.Keywords: demographic factors, medical condition, complete dentures, complaint

Knowledge of Consequences of missing teeth in patients attending Prosthetic Clinic in U.C.H. Ibadan

Background and Objective: Various causes of tooth loss such as caries, trauma, periodontal diseases, and cancer have been documented in the literature. In addition, factors that can modify these causes such as level of  education, age and sex have been studied. There is however paucity of information on whether patients or people with missing teeth are aware of the side effects of tooth loss on them or on the remaining teeth. This study investigated the knowledge of consequences of missing teeth among partially edentulous patients in a teaching hospital.Patients and Method: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the patients to collect information relating to demography, cause and duration of tooth loss, awareness of the consequences of tooth loss and their sources of information. Four clinical conditions including supra-eruption, mastication, teeth drifting, and facial collapse were used to assess the level of awareness of consequences of missing teeth.Result: Two hundred and three participants were included in the study. Their mean age was 45.5±1.8 years. There was no significant difference between the knowledge of the consequences of missing teeth and sex or on level of education (p 0.05). Dentists constituted the largest source of information to these patients (25.6%) while the media constituted the least (0.5%).Conclusion: The result of this study showed poor knowledge of the consequences of missing teeth among partially edentulous patients and the media that should be of assistance were equally unaware, signifying urgent need for public awareness on this subject.Key words: Tooth loss, Level of awareness, Consequence of missing teeth

Ozone therapy and restorative dentistry: a literature review

Objective: Over the recent years, restorative dentistry has shifted towards practicing preventive dentistry and adopting more conservative and tooth-preserving procedures. This approach is being further reinforced with the emergence of ozone therapy in the management of tooth decay. Ozone therapy is the treatment of the tooth with a mixture of oxygen and ozone. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive literature on ozone therapy and on the different areas of restorative dental specialty where this emerging treatment alternative has been found applicable.Method: The Medline and Google databases were searched for relevant literature using the following terms “ozone therapy and dentistry”, “ozone”, “atraumatic tooth restoration”, “tooth decay and remineralization”. Manual library search and review of bibliographies of published literature were also conducted. Publications that discussed what ozone therapy is all about, thehistory, mechanism of action, production of ozone, toxicity and clinical applications particularly in Restorative Dentistry were extracted.Result: Ozone therapy causes remineralization of incipient pit and fissure caries as well as incipient root caries. Its usefulness in open lesions has also being demonstrated. Dental decay may sometimes be managed without the conventional anaesthetic, drill and filling. It is also used in Restorative Dentistry for sterilization of removable dentures and avulsed tooth, tooth bleaching and desensitization. There is conflicting evidence regarding its application in endodontics at the moment.Conclusion: There is some demonstrable emerging evidence to suggest that ozone therapy is useful in restorative dentistry and it could turn around for good the practice of the discipline in the near future. Its mode of application in dentistry ensures its safety.Key words: Ozone therapy, caries, remineralization, atraumatic restoratio

Maxillary First Premolar with Three Root Canals: A Case Report

The maxillary first premolar is the most commonly bi- rooted tooth with  occasional presentation of three roots system; it is a transitional tooth  between incisors and molars. Although it usually has two canals, it may rarely have three and this third canal can easily be missed. Thus meticulous  knowledge of tooth morphology, careful interpretation of angled radiographs,proper access cavity preparation and a detailed exploration of the interior of the tooth is needed to ensure a proper endodontic treatment. This article reports a rare finding of three canals in a maxillary first premolar with non well defined root outline radiographically during an elective root canal treatment.Keywords: Maxillary First Premolar, Endodontic Treatment, Elective, Root Canal Morpholog

Tooth loss: Are the patients prepared?

Background and Aim: Tooth loss is associated with esthetic, functional, psychological, and social impacts on the life of individuals. This study was designed to find out how Nigerians feel about losing their teeth and what effects, if any, this has on their lives. Most of the problems presented to the dentist as difficult denture tolerance could be as a result of the emotional effects of tooth loss rather than problems from the denture itself.Materials and Methods: The study was carried using a self-administered questionnaire to consenting adult patients undergoing tooth extraction at the Oral and Maxillofacial Clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS, version 15.5.Results: A total of 90 respondents completed the questionnaires; 35 (27.6%) were males while 55 (43.3%) were females. The respondents were aged 0–70 years. Immediate acceptance of tooth loss was noted in 88 (69.3%) cases, but 6 (47%) accepted the loss only after 1 year, while 8 (6.3%) of the cases found it difficult to accept losing their teeth and incidentally, all of them were 30 years and above. Only 52 (40.9%) of the patients were prepared for the emotional effect of losing their teeth. A feeling of relief immediately following tooth extraction was expressed by 75 (43.9%) cases and of these 32 (47.8%) were females. The emotional effects following teeth loss were sadness 22 (12.9%) cases, depression in 11 (6.4%), feeling of losing body part in 24 (14%), feeling of aging in 4 (2.3%), while 13 (7.6%) respondents felt unconcerned.Conclusion: We observed that emotional effects of tooth loss are also experienced among our patients with a range of emotions quite similar to those observed by previous authors from the developed world. The significant number of patients that failed to come to terms with their tooth loss indicates that the effect of tooth loss on self-esteem and selfimage is not short lived as it has been assumed

Nutritional Composition and Antimicrobial Properties of Three Nigerian Condiments

Three Nigerian condiments were analyzed. Dried Irvingia gabonensis seeds and freshly fermented Parkia biglobosa and Prosopis africana were analyzed for their proximate composition, mineral contents and antimicrobial properties. The condiments were found to be very rich in protein (21.35 – 26.13%) with high energy values (351.13 – 595.05 kcal/kg). The moisture content of P. biglobosa and P. africana were very high (20.30 – 27.01%) compared to that of Irvingia gabonensis (3.75%) which, however, had a higher fat content (55.09%). I. gabonensis also had higher content of macroelements while P. africana was superior in micro elements. The extracts had higher anti-fungi activities but lower antibacterial activities. The activity index increased with the polarity of solvent of extraction, methanolic extract being the most potent with the highest inhibition activities between 22 ± 1 and 27 ± 1 for fermented P. biglobossa

Isolation and antibacterial activity of triterpenes from Euphorbia kamerunica Pax

Two known compounds, friedelin and epifriedelinol were isolated from Euphorbia kamerunica Pax. The compound’s structures were established on the basis of spectral analysis. The antibacterial activities of these compounds and the ethyl acetate extract were established on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhii and Staphylococcus aureus. The extract displayed higher inhibition activities on the bacteria than the isolated compounds. The zones of inhibition of the extracts were between 9.0 and 30.5 mm, with the highest extract activity on Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of the isolated triterpenes were between 7.5 - 10 μg/ml.© 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reservedKeywords: Euphorbia kamerunica, friedelin, epifriedelinol, antibacterial activity, MIC

Effects of cottonseed oil and aloe vera supplement on the sperm parameters of male wistar rats

No Abstract.Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 14 (2) 2007: pp.38-4