Oral Health Policy and Research Capacity: Perspectives From Dental Schools in Africa.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: The prioritisation of oral health in all health policies in the WHO African region is gaining momentum. Dental schools in this region are key stakeholders in informing the development and subsequent downstream implementation and monitoring of these policies. The objectives of our study are to determine how dental schools contribute to oral health policies (OHPs) in this region, to identify the barriers to and facilitators for engaging with other local stakeholders, and to understand their capacity to respond to population and public health needs. METHODS: We developed a needs assessment survey, including quantitative and qualitative questions. The survey was developed electronically in Qualtrics and distributed by email in February 2023 to the deans or other designees at dental schools in the WHO African region. Data were analysed in SAS version 9.4 and ATLAS.ti. RESULTS: The capacity for dental schools to respond to population and public health needs varied. Most schools have postgraduate programs to train the next generation of researchers. However, these programs have limitations that may hinder the students from achieving the necessary skills and training. A majority (75%) of respondents were aware of the existence of national OHPs and encountered a myriad of challenges when engaging with them, including a lack of coordination with other stakeholders, resources, and oral health professionals, and the low priority given to oral health. Their strengths as technical experts and researchers was a common facilitator for engaging with OHPs. CONCLUSION: Dental schools in the region face common challenges and facilitators in engaging in the OHP process. There were several school-specific research and training capacities that enabled them to respond to population and public health needs. Overall, shared challenges and facilitators can inform stakeholder dialogues at a national and subnational level and help develop tailored solutions for enhancing the oral health policy pipeline.

Prevalence of dental caries and oral hygiene status of a screened population in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: The study was designed to determine the prevalence of dental caries and partial edentulism, in addition to assessing the oral hygiene status and restorative care among adults in a community-based outreach program in Port Harcourt. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults who participated in oral health screening program, which took place in Alakahia and Obigbo rural communities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. After a brief oral health education, clinical examination was conducted and the diagnosis of caries was made based on the guidelines laid down by World Health Organization. Prevalence of caries was measured using decayed missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index, and oral hygiene status was assessed using the OHI-S. The restorative index [(F/F + D) ×100] was also calculated and the sociodemographic factors of the subjects were noted. Chi-square test, independent t-test and descriptive statistic were employed for analysis. RESULTS: One fifty-five females (53.8%) and 133 males (46.2%) attended the events and their mean age was 29.3 ± 10.5 years. About one-third of the participants (35.1%) presented with dental caries. The mean DMFT for the whole group was 0.67 ± 2.0. The restorative index for the subjects was 26.8%. The oral hygiene status of most of the participants was fair. This was significantly better in females than in males (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Although about one-third of the participants had dental caries, only a quarter of them had received restorative care. Most of the respondents had fair and poor oral hygiene, this suggests the need to educate and motivate the community toward adopting and maintaining positive oral health attitudes and practices.

Oral self-care practices among university students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

BACKGROUND: The maintenance of optimum oral health is dependent on the efficacy of oral self-care. The objective of the present study was to evaluate oral self-care practices and knowledge among non-medical students at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcourt Nigeria, in January, 2014. Self-administered questionnaire elicited information on demography, frequency of tooth brushing, type of tooth brush, use of dental floss and previous visit to the dentist. RESULTS: A total of 360 young adults, 188 males and 172 females, aged 18-33 years participated in the study. Brushing habits of the study population was at least once a day (90%). Approximately half (52.5 %) of the samples used medium-sized bristles and about 28.8% of the students replaced their toothbrush every 3 months. Regarding oral hygiene aids, few students, 5.8% and 4.2% used dental floss and mouthwash, respectively, as oral cleaning aid. Most of the students (71.6%) had never visited the dentist, 18.1% visited due to dental pain and 8.1% for extraction. Regarding knowledge on oral hygiene practice, approximately 60% of students knew that we have to brush our teeth twice daily, 31% knew we need to visit the dentist twice a year and only 18% knew what was dental floss. CONCLUSION: Oral hygiene practices among the students were poor. Therefore, oral health education and promotion is required to improve oral hygiene practices and health among young adults and the general population.

A survey of dental students on global oral health issues in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: This study seeks to investigate to what extent are students conversant with global oral health initiatives and policies, students' willingness to volunteer service at international setting or developing countries and the need for global oral health course in Nigeria. METHODS: Final year dental students in two Nigerian Universities were surveyed for this study. The students voluntarily completed the global oral health information questionnaire in a classroom before a scheduled lecture. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistic 20. RESULTS: All the final year students participated in the survey. All the students agreed that they need to be taught course on global oral health and would consider volunteering their dental skills and expertise in an international setting or developing country. Only 4.5% of the students knew the meaning of the basic package of oral care (BPOC) and none of the surveyed students could correctly name the three components of BPOC. Whereas only 18.2% could identify World Dental Federation and World Health Organization as the bodies that developed global oral health goals for the year 2000, none of the students could correctly list the three components of global oral health goals for the year 2000. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that a gap exists in the knowledge of students on global oral health matters and recommends that the curricula of schools be constantly reviewed in line with current trends in policies and practices.