Tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students

Objective: To determine the tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology Enugu, Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on demography, frequency, duration and technique of tooth brushing and tongue cleaning as well as information on consumption of snacks. Results: A total of 242 students responded. Dental technology students made up 52.5% of the respondents and dental therapist in training made up 47.5%. Majority (63.2%) of the respondents considered the strength of tooth brush when purchasing a tooth brush and 78.9% use tooth brushes with medium strength. Seven-tenth (71.9%) of the respondents brush their teeth twice daily and 52.1% brush for 3–5 minutes. About one-third (30.2%) brush their teeth in front of a mirror. Chewing stick was used by 51.7% of respondents in addition to the use of tooth brush. Tongue cleaning was done by 94.2% with only 9.5% using a tongue cleaner. Only 20.2% reported regular snacks consumption. Nine-tenth (90.4%) of respondents were previously involved in educating others, apart from their colleagues, on tooth brushing. Conclusion: This survey revealed that most of the dental therapy and technology students had satisfactory tooth-brushing behaviour. The zeal to educate others about proper tooth brushing revealed in this study suggests that the students may be helpful in oral health promotion

Risk factors associated with accidental ingestion of dental prosthesis in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Ingestion of dental prosthesis is a challenging health problem that may result in severe and at times fatal complications.Aim: To identify risk factors that may lead to accidental ingestion of these dental prosthesis and suggest preventive strategies.Methods: This was a prospective observational study at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, between 1st January, 2009 and 31st December, 2010 of patients presenting with ingestion of dental prosthesis. The bio data and data relating to circumstances surrounding the ingestion of the dental prosthesis  were obtained from the patients and analyzed manually.Results:  During the study period, eight patents were see, seven male and one female. Their ages ranged from 35 to 85 years with an average of 61.13 years.  All the dental prosthesis retrieved from patients in this study were  unsecured. Most of the patients with impacted dental prosthesis did not have the habit of removing their denture before sleeping; eating or taking drugs orally, even-though the activity engaged in during ingestion of dental prosthesis in all the patients were during eating, drinking water or drugs. Only one of the patients ever went for check-up after the initial fitting of their denture.Conclusion: Removal of unsecured dental prosthesis before eating, drinking water or drugs will likely reduce the incidence of their ingestion in our environment.Keywords: Preventive, Strategies, Dental prosthesis, Impaction, Health education, Oesophagu

Awareness and attitude of Nigerian dentists to occupational HIV post-exposure prophylaxis

Background: The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus infection in Nigeria remains worrisome. Dentists are increasingly becoming at risk of occupational exposure to the virus. Post-exposure prophylaxis is known to reduce the risk of sero-conversion when appropriately administered. This study assessed the awareness and attitude of Nigerian Dentists towards post-exposure prophylaxis.Methods: A total of 177 Nigerian Dentists from the geopolitical regions of Nigeria were surveyed in 2003 by use of a self-administered questionnaire in a cross sectional, purposive, pilot study and assessed for awareness and attitude to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis.Results: The mean age of respondents was 33.2 years (S.D = 7.66). Sixty-one percent were males while 39% were females. Seventy five percent are General Dental Practitioners and 25% Specialists. Similarly,80.8% are government employed and 19.2% in private practice. About 58.8% of the total respondents reported being aware of occupational post exposure prophylaxis, 33.3% were not aware while 7.9% were unsure. About 84.7% indicated a willingness to accept, 5.1% were not willing to accept and 10.2% were unsure of whether to accept or reject the post-exposure prophylaxis regime. By geopolitical zone, Dental Surgeons from the South West (63.5%) were more aware of PEP than other zones while Dentists from the North Central and North West (88%) were most willing to accept post-exposure prophylaxis. Only 38.9% had attended continuing medical education on human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency disease in the preceeding two years.Conclusion: This study indicates that slightly over half the population of Nigeria Dentists is aware of and have good attitude to occupational human immunodeficiency virus post-exposure prophylaxis treatment. Continuing medical education programmes on human immunodeficiency  virus/acquired immune deficiency disease is recommended

Oral health practices and self-assessed dental status of an adult population in Benin City, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the self- assessed oral health status and dental practices among an adult population in Benin City.Method: The cross sectional convenience study involved 190 Christian religious leaders aged 24- 73 years, comprising 155 (81.6%) males 35 (18.4%) females. Data was collected by means of self administered questionnaire which included their personal characteristics previous dental visits, oral self-care behaviour, halitosis.Result: Twenty five percent of the pastors had experienced toothache; only 3.2% had visited a dentist within 6 months prior to the study, 7.4% in more than a year but less than 3 years and, 67.9% had never been to a dentist. Only 25.3% visited for routine checkup and 8.4% felt they had bad breath out of which 14.7% thought it affected their communication with others. However, 69.5% rated their oral health as good. Furthermore, 81.1% used toothbrush and paste, 16.3% a combination of toothbrush and chewing stick, while 51.1% cleaned their mouths once daily and 43.2% twice daily. Only 15.8% had done scaling and polishing. While 47.4% claimed to have previously received instruction on maintenance of proper oral health.Conclusion: The findings from this study indicated a low utilization of dental services and significant need for oral health education. The role of the subjects who participated in this study stake holders in assisting to improve the health of members of the oragnisation and local community is advocated.Key words: Oral health, practices, status, adult, Benin Cit

Oral hygiene profile of inmates in a correctional home

Background: Prisoners are a vulnerable and socially deprived group requiring dental care intervention. They are often neglected with little or no access to health care and poor oral hygiene may be an additional burden.Objectives: To assess the oral hygiene status of prison inmates and investigate its relationship to socio-demographic variables.Method: The study was design as a descriptive cross-sectional survey. Inmates were selected by systematic random sampling from two prisons in Benin City and data was collected by means of structured interview followed by clinical examination which involved assessment of oral hygiene status using the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S).Results: The mean OHI-S score for the group was 1.96 ± 0.07. There was a significant increase of mean OHI-S with age (P = 0.00). Inmates who cleaned their teeth with toothbrush and paste had significant better oral hygiene status than those who did with chewing stick (P = 0.01). Few inmates had access to oral hygiene aids and good oral hygiene was observed in 22.1% of the inmates.Conclusion: This study showed that sex, age and oral hygiene practices were significantly related to oral hygiene status and fewer respondents had access to oral hygiene aids.Key words: Oral Hygiene, Prison, Inmates, Benin City

Dental caries experience and oral health behavior among 7-15 years old children attending military and paramilitary schools in Benin City

Aims: To investigate dental caries experience and oral health behavior among 7-15 year old school children attending military and paramilitary primary schools in Benin City.Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study included 172 school children. Systematic random sampling method was used to select the participants, administered questionnaires followed by clinical examination based on WHO criteria for dental caries diagnosis.Results: The response rate was 95.6%. Study involved 96 (55.8%) males and 76 (44.2%) females with age range of 7-15 years and mean age of 10.7 years (SD=1.85). The prevalence of dental caries was 20.4% with a total mean DMFT/dmft of 0.36. Females (0.41) higher than Males (0.33). About 57.6% had previously heard of the dentist while only 25% had been to a dental clinic with 56.4% cleaning their teeth twice daily mostly using tooth paste and brush. Nearly half (47.1%) reported bleeding while brushing and 90.1% took snacks. Furthermore, 92.4% responded that halitosis was a concern to them.Conclusion: The school children had satisfactory knowledge of dental personnel and good oral hygiene practices, but poor dental visits and snacking habits. The prevalence of caries was low and is likely to increase without oral health education, promotion and intervention. Periodic screening and education is recommended.Keywords: dental caries, children, oral health education, oral hygiene practice, screening