Perception and Concerns about the Use of Gloves, Facemask, and HIV Discriminatory Attitude of Children attending Dental Clinics in Southern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: The use of face masks and gloves can prevent possible cross infection between dental patients and health care practitioners. AIM: The study identified the perception of paediatric dental patients on the need for dentists to use face masks and gloves; and their attitude towards using the same clinic with paediatric dental patients living with HIV. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study that recruited 438 children aged 8-15 years attending three paediatric dental clinics located in Southern Nigeria. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The dependent variables were perception of cross infection control and attitude towards children living with HIV. The independent variables were age, sex, socioeconomic status and location of clinic. Chi-square analysis was conducted to determine the associations between the dependent and independent variables. Logistic regression analysis was also conducted to assess the effect size of the associations between the dependent and independent variables. The level of statistical significance was inferred at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Majority of the respondents agreed that it was necessary to wear gloves (98.6%) and facemasks (88.1%) during patients' management. More females 62(28.2%) than males 38(17.4%) assumed gloves were used by dentists to protect themselves from patients' bad breath (p=0.007). More children from Benin 97(64.2%) were aware that face masks protect the dentists and the patients (p=0.004), and a few believed that it is embarrassing to patients for dentists to wear facemasks (p=0.001). More children 102(70.8%) from Ile-Ife perceived that face masks protects from bad breath (p=0.004).Children less than 10 years (AOR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.42-1.70; p=0.64), with high socioeconomic status (AOR: 0.90; 95% CI:0.53-1.52; p=0.70) and children aged 10 to 14 years (AOR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.44-1.63; p=0.62), in the middle socioeconomic status (AOR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.39-1.33; p=0.30) were less willing to use the dental clinic alongside children living with HIV. CONCLUSION: There were sex, and clinic location disparity in the perception and attitude of children towards the use of Personal Protective Equipment and the use of the dental clinic alongside children living with HIV.

INTRODUCTION: L'utilisation de masques faciaux et de gants peut prévenir une éventuelle infection croisée entre les patients dentaires et les praticiens de santé. OBJECTIF: L'étude a identifié la perception des patients dentaires pédiatriques sur la nécessité pour les dentistes d'utiliser des masques et des gants ; et leur attitude vis-à-vis de l'utilisation de la même clinique avec des patients dentaires pédiatriques vivant avec le VIH. MÉTHODES: Il s'agit d'une étude transversale qui a recruté 438 enfants âgés de 8 à 15 ans fréquentant trois cliniques dentaires pédiatriques situées dans le sud du Nigeria. ANALYSE STATISTIQUE: Les variables dépendantes étaient la perception du contrôle des infections croisées et l'attitude envers les enfants vivant avec le VIH. Les variables indépendantes étaient l'âge, le sexe, le statut socio-économique et le lieu de la clinique. Une analyse du chi carré a été réalisée pour déterminer les associations entre les variables dépendantes et indépendantes. Une analyse de régression logistique a également été réalisée pour évaluer la taille de l'effet des associations entre les variables dépendantes et indépendantes. Le niveau de signification statistique a été déduit à P < 0,05. RÉSULTATS: La majorité des répondants étaient d'accord pour dire qu'il était nécessaire de porter des gants (98,6 %) et des masques (88,1 %) pendant la prise en charge des patients. Plus de femmes 62(28,2%) que d'hommes 38(17,4%) ont supposé que les gants étaient utilisés par les dentistes pour se protéger de la mauvaise haleine des patients (p=0,007). Plus d'enfants béninois 97(64,2%) savaient que les masques faciaux protègent les dentistes et les patients (p=0,004), et quelques-uns pensaient que le port de masques faciaux par les dentistes était gênant pour les patients (p=0,001). Les enfants de moins de 10 ans (AOR : 0.85 ; 95% CI : 0.42-1.70 ; p=0.64), avec un statut socio-économique élevé (AOR : 0.90 ; 95% CI:0.53-1.52 ; p=0.70) et les enfants âgés de 10 à 14 ans (AOR : 0,85 ; IC 95% : 0,44-1,63; p=0,62), au statut socio-économique moyen (AOR : 0,72 ; IC 95% : 0,39-1,33 ; p=0,30) étaient moins disposés à utiliser la clinique dentaire aux côtés des enfants vivant avec le VIH. CONCLUSION: Il y avait une disparités de sexe et de lieu de clinique dans la perception et l'attitude des enfants vis-à-vis de l'utilisation des équipements de protection individuelle et de l'utilisation de la clinique dentaire avec les enfants vivant avec le VIH. Mots clés: Masque, Gants, VIH, Discriminatoire, Enfants.

ORTHODONTIC NEEDS OF PATIENTS WITH CLEFT LIP AND PALATE IN ENUGU, FIVE YEARS POST REPAIR.

BACKGROUND: Orthodontists play an integral role in the management of cleft lip and palate anomaly. This study looks at the frequency of anomalies amenable to orthodontics in patients who have had surgery and the effect of early or late surgical intervention. METHODOLOGY: Patients aged 0-5 years with cleft of the lip and/or palate who were operated on by the plastic surgeon at the Good Shepherd Specialist Hospital, Enugu between 1st July 2011 and 30th June 2014, were recalled after a minimum of five years post-surgery and examined to determine the absence or presence of dental anomalies, amenable to orthodontic treatment, which have arisen since surgical repair. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for data analysis and significance was at 0.05. RESULTS: Thirty-one children were operated upon in the period under review. Seventeen had timely (three months or less) lip repair. Seven had timely palate repair (18 months or less). Thirteen patients were successfully recalled, 12 had cleft lip repair while one had cleft palate repair. Repair was timely in 10 (83.3%) of the 12 that had lip repair with a mean frequency of four dental anomalies, while the two (16.7%) that had late repair had a mean frequency of five dental anomalies and this was not statistically significant (P value=0.711). The only isolated cleft palate patient successfully recalled had a late repair. All 13 patients had at least four dental anomalies amenable to orthodontics. Hypoplastic maxilla were the most commonly occurring (eight patients, 61.54%) dental anomaly amenable to orthodontic treatment. None of the patients had a clinically visible supernumerary tooth. Out of 13 patients reviewed, sis were males with a mean frequency of four dental anomalies while seven were females, also with a mean frequency of four dental anomalies. This was not significant (P-value=0.553). CONCLUSION: There is need for the long term Orthodontic follow up of cleft lip and palate patients. The orthodontic management of dental anomaly should, therefore, be central in the planning and treatment of patients with cleft lip and palate.

Pattern of presentation of oral health conditions by children at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu: a retrospective study.

AIM: The study aimed to determine the pattern of occurrence of oral conditions among children that attended the Child Dental Health clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu over a 45 months period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical records of 305 patients, aged 3 days to 16 years, who attended the Child Dental Health Clinic of the UNTH from April 2008 to December 2011 were retrieved and analyzed. RESULTS: Out of a total of 305 children who visited the Child Dental Health Clinic within this period, there were 148 (48.5%) males and 157 (51.5%) females. The ages ranged from 3 days to 16 years with a mean age of 9.05 years, only 4.6% made asymptomatic visit while 95.4% made symptomatic visit. 68.2% had caries and its sequeale, with no significant difference across the gender ( P = 1.472). Nearly 91.1% had periodontal diseases, with a significant difference noted ( P = 0.020) 2% had tooth developmental anomalies, 10.5% had traumatic dental injuries, 12.1% had malocclusion and other esthetic problems, 15.1% had other oral pathologies, 14.4% had abnormalities of tooth eruption. CONCLUSION: A significant 95.4% of the children made symptomatic visit. Periodontal disease was the most prevalent finding followed by dental caries. There is an urgent need to increase dental health awareness among children through school based continuing dental education program and also among other pediatric care givers such as parents, teachers, and pediatricians.

Tobacco use and oral health of inmates in a Nigerian prison.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of tobacco use on oral health status of inmates of a federal prison in Enugu, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved 230 inmates of the Nigerian Prison in Enugu. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the demographic characteristics of the participants, oral hygiene methods, and smoking habits. An intra-oral examination to determine their oral health status was done using simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) for the oral hygiene status, the modified decayed missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index for caries status, and community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) for the periodontal needs. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 15 was used to analyze data. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty participants (52.2%) were current smokers. Mean DMFT of smokers and nonsmokers were 2.38 ± 0.71 and 2.25 ± 0.83 respectively ( P = 0.508) while mean Community Periodontal Index (CPI) scores of smokers and nonsmokers were 4.71 ± 1.26 and 2.27 ± 0.86, respectively ( P = 0.276). Oral soft tissue lesions such as mucosal burn, oral leukoplakia-like lesions were found mainly in the tobacco users. CONCLUSION: Tobacco use had a negative effect on the oral health of the participants as smokers had worse oral health profile than non-smokers. They may benefit from counseling programs with the view to educate them on the effect of tobacco use on oral health and by extension, the general health. The full implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty in Nigeria could help in curtailing these unwanted consequences of tobacco use.

Anterior face height values in a nigerian population.

BACKGROUND: Withan increasing demand in the number of patients seeking orthodontictreatment at the Orthodontic unit of University of Benin teaching hospital it becomes imperative to provide normative values for anterior face heights. These values will then form a basis for clinical diagnosis, treatment planning and evaluation of facial proportions following orthodontic treatments. AIM: The aim of this study was to measure anterior face height proportions of school children in Benin City. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred Lateral cephalometric radiographs of 12-15 years old school children, in Benin City were taken to establish anterior face height values. Manual tracings of the cephalograms were carried out and the linear measurements were recorded, summarized, and statistically analyzed using the Microsoft Excel Programme 2000. The comparative test was conducted using the Student's t-test to demonstrate any statistically significant difference between the values for the males and females, at 95% confidence level P < 0.05, was regarded as significant. RESULT: Out of the 100 subjects who participated in the study, there were 40 males 40% (40/100) and 60 females 60% (60/100), with a mean age of 12.2 years. Following a combined data analysis for both males and females, the mean biological values obtained for the parameters investigated are; Anterior Lower Face Height (ALFH) 60.9 (5) mm, Anterior Upper Face Height 47.7 (4) mm, Anterior Total Face Height (ATFH) 108.5 (5) mm, ratio of ALFH to ATFH ALFH: ATFH 56 (4)%. CONCLUSION: This study provides anterior face height measurements, which will be of great significance in evaluating facial proportions andesthetics in orthodontics, orthognathic surgery, and prosthetic dentistry.

Tobacco Use and Oral Health of Inmates in a Nigerian Prison

Objectives: To determine the effect of tobacco use on oral health status of inmates of a federal prison in Enugu, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The study involved 230 inmates of the Nigerian Prison in Enugu. An interviewer­administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the demographic characteristics of the participants, oral hygiene methods, and smoking habits. An intra­oral examination to determine their oral health status was done using simplified oral hygiene index (OHI­S) for the oral hygiene status, the modified decayed missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index for caries status, and community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) for the periodontal needs. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 15 was used to analyze data.Results: One hundred and twenty participants (52.2%) were current smokers. Mean DMFT of smokers and nonsmokers were 2.38 ± 0.71 and 2.25 ± 0.83 respectively (P = 0.508) while mean Community Periodontal Index (CPI) scores of smokers and nonsmokers were 4.71 ± 1.26 and 2.27 ± 0.86, respectively (P = 0.276). Oral soft tissue lesions such as mucosal burn, oral leukoplakia­like lesions were found mainly in the tobacco users. Conclusion: Tobacco use had a negative effect on the oral health of the participants as smokers had worse oral health profile than non­smokers. They may benefit from counseling programs with the view to educate them on the effect of tobacco use on oral health and by extension, the general health. The full implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty in Nigeria could help in curtailing these unwanted consequences of tobacco use

A Retrospective Evaluation of the Class of Malocclusion amongst Orthodontic Patients at the University Of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the type of malocclusion amongst orthodontic patients in the UNTH. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of patients who attended the Orthodontic unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital from January 2008 to January 2010 was carried out to determine the type of malocclusion. Demographic dat a of the patients and information on first molar relationship were obtained from the patient's record file. RESULTS: A total of 75 patients, 21 males (28%) and 54 females (72%) were seen. The age range of the patients studied was 6 to 63years with the most frequent age group being 6 to 15 years, consisting 52.1% of the total patients seen. Class 1 molar relationship was the most prevalent occurring in 60% of the cases. CONCLUSION: There were more females who attended the Orthodontic unit within this 2 year period. Class 1 malocclusion was the most common type of malocclusion.

Normal values of medial and lateral canthal distances in 3 to 18 year-old Nigerians.

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out on male and female Nigerians whose age ranged from 3 to 18 years in order to provide a database of canthal measurements for a predominantly black population and compare them with Caucasians. STUDY DESIGN: All the healthy pupils and students were randomly selected. The ages of the children, adolescents and young adults were approximated to their nearest birthdays. Two different researchers measured each parameter and the mean values were recorded. SETTING: Nursery, primary, secondary schools and the University of Benin, in Benin City, Nigeria. RESULTS: Four hundred and sixty eight males (53.4%) and 408 (46.6%) females making up a total of 876 subjects were studied. The mean values for medial canthal distance for male Nigerians are slightly higher than those established for male Caucasians and these differences are significant (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in the lateral canthal distance between the two groups (p<0.05). Nigerian and Caucasian females have significant difference (p>0.05) in mean values for medial canthal distances but not in lateral canthal distance (p<0.05). The difference in these distances between Nigerian males and females are not significant. Weight and lateral canthal distance showed a covariance of 6.980 while age and lateral canthal distance, age and medial canthal distance showed a covariance of 2.970 and 1.140 respectively. There was no correlation between age, height, weight and the distances measured. CONCLUSION: Medial canthal distances between male and female Nigerians compared to males and female Caucasians show significant variations but not in the lateral canthal distances.