Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic training and psychosocial well-being of undergraduate dental students in Nigeria.

Background: Most educational institutions in Nigeria were shut down for a long while at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as a preventive measure, and this affected dental students' academic and clinical training. Aim: To determine the influence of the pandemic on the academic, clinical training, and psychosocial well-being of dental students in Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate dental students in clinical years in Nigerian dental schools. Participants received the questionnaire through an online platform, it had four sections; socio-demographics, impact on academic training, psychosocial well-being, and an open-ended segment for participants' suggestions to challenges. A mixed method was utilized to analyze the data. The statistical significance level was P < 0.05. Results: One hundred two dental students from nine dental schools participated, with a mean age of 25.3 ± 2.4 years. There were 56 (54.9%) males. Most students, 80 (78.4%) reported that their stay-at-home had not been rewarding academically. The majority, 90 (88.2%) were worried about contracting COVID-19 on school resumption. Participants' psychosocial well-being had significant associations with gender (P = 0.001) and self-directed learning during their stay-at-home (P = 0.001). More female students, 33 (71.7%) were severely worried compared to males 20 (35.7%). Their major suggestions were to commence online teaching and examinations (40.1%) and be provided with adequate personal protective equipment (18.6%). Conclusion: Most undergraduate students in Nigeria were anxious about COVID-19, and females were more affected. This negatively impacted their academic and clinical training. This underscores the importance of adequate psychological support for undergraduate dental students by school authorities.

Impact of oral hygiene and socio-demographic factors on dental caries in a suburban population in Nigeria.

AIM: This was to determine dental caries determinants in the study participants. METHODOLOGY: This was a secondary data study extracted from primary data through a school-based study that recruited students from primary and secondary schools in a suburban population in Nigeria. The variables included age, gender, socio-economic status, oral hygiene status, type of parenting, birth rank, family size and presence of dental caries. The diagnosis of dental caries was based on the World Health Oral Health Survey recommendations while oral hygiene was determined using simplified-oral hygiene index (OHI-S). Data was analysed using STATA version 13, statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries for the study population was 12.2%, DMFT and dmft were 0.16 and 0.06 respectively. Children within age groups 11-13 and 14-16 years had reduced chances of having dental caries (P = 0.01; P = 0.01); children with fair oral hygiene and poor oral hygiene had increased odds of having dental caries (P ≤ 0.001; P ≤ 0.001), last child of the family also had increased odds of having dental caries while children from large family size had reduced odds of having dental caries. This study also showed that first permanent molars and second primary molars were mostly affected by dental caries but there was no significant difference between distribution of the maxillary or mandibular jaw or between right and left quadrants. CONCLUSION: Age, oral hygiene, birth rank and family size were the significant determinants of dental caries in the study population and the teeth mostly affected were first permanent molars and second primary molars.

Mesures anthropométriques faciales chez les jeunes adultes d'Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Introduction : Les mesures anthropométriques faites directement à partir des visages sont utilisées pour établir des proportions faciales qui sont des déterminants de la beauté faciale. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer les dimensions anthropométriques faciales des jeunes adultes à Ile-Ife, au Nigeria.Patients et méthodes : Cent étudiants en médecine (50 hommes et 50 femmes) sélectionnés à l'Université d'Odile Awolowo Ile-Ife, ont eu douze mesures anthropométriques faciales faites directement sur eux avec un étrier numérique électronique. La taille, le poids, l'Indice de Masse Corporelle (IMC) des participants ont été déterminés, les indices faciaux ont ensuite été calculés. Résultats : Les dimensions anthropométriques faciales moyennes étaient généralement plus grandes chez les hommes que chez les femmes, les différences entre les sexes étaient significatives (p < 0,05) à l'exception de la largeur zygomatique, les dimensions du vermillon des lèvres supérieures et inférieures et des dimensions faciales angulaires (p > 0,05). Le type de visage dominant a été mésoprosope chez les participants féminins (40%), les participants masculins ont principalement présenté le type hyperleptoprosope (32%), le type facial hypereuroprosope était le moins commun. Le type facial et l'IMC ont montré une faible corrélation négative (r = -0,144 p = .152).Conclusion : Les dimensions anthropométriques faciales moyennes d'un groupe de jeunes adultes nigérians ont été déterminées, et des différences significatives ont été identifiées entre les deux sexes. Les participants présentaient des mâchoires plus larges, des distances inter-canthales, des bases nasales, des bouches et des lèvres supérieures et inférieures plus épaisses que les caucasiens, les asiatiques, les chinois et les malaisiens. Le type facial dominant était mésoprosope

A CEPHALOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE MORPHOLOGY AND SIZE OF SELLA TURCICA IN NIGERIANS WITH NORMAL AND BIMAXILLARY INCISOR PROTRUSION.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that bimaxillary protruded anterior teeth may be related to the sella turcica anatomically and embryologically through their common progenitors. AIM: This study assessed the morphological variations and linear dimensions of sella turcica in a Nigerian population with normal and bimaxillary protruded teeth. METHODOLOGY: Lateral cephalometric radiographs of orthodontic patients were assessed. Sixty-five randomly selected radiographs of patients with bimaxillary proclination were compared with 52 radiographs of normal incisor relationship subjects. Cephalometric landmarks and dimensions of sella turcica were identified and traced manually and measured. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPSS version 16.0 for windows, SPSS Inc, Chicago). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used and significance level was set at P<0.05. RESULTS: Sella turcica with normal morphology accounted for 61.5% in the population while the least was sella turcica bridge with only 6%. The sella turcica dimensions were consistently larger in young adults than the adolescents, however, no statistically significant difference was reported in its length and diameter (p>0.05) except for the depth (p<0.05). Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences in sella turcica dimensions in relation to gender and incisor relationship. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of normal morphology of sella turcica in the population was 61.5%. There was no statistically significant difference in sella turcica dimensions between normal and bimaxillary protrusion subjects (p>0.05). Similarly, no significant differences in dimensions were observed in gender and age groups (p>0.05) except for the depth of sella turcica that was significantly larger in young adults (p<0.05).

Undergraduate dental education in Nigeria: perceptions of dental students and recent dental graduates.

Background: Students' perception of their education is a subject that has received very little attention by those providing dental school education. This is more so in the Nigerian environment, where limited research has been carried out in dental education, particularly with respect to the students' perspectives on the quality of training received. Objective: Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of dental students and recent dental graduates in Nigeria on their level of satisfaction with the quality of academic and clinical training received in their respective dental schools and the challenges faced in receiving this training. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out amongst 271 dental students and recent dental graduates from eight dental schools in the country. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Data collection was via self-administered questionnaires. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 17. Results: The final study sample was made up of 239 students, with a mean age of 24.57 (2.21) years. The two dental specialties in which the least level of satisfaction was recorded with regard to the quality of academic training received were Conservative Dentistry and Orthodontics, while for clinical training they were Conservative Dentistry and Oral Biology/Pathology. The three most common factors which were adversely affecting the quality of clinical training received were, poor electricity supply, insufficient dental chairs and quality of training received. Conclusion: Dental students and recent graduates of Nigerian Dental schools are not satisfied with the quality of undergraduate training received in some dental specialties at their respective dental schools.

A study of cephalometric soft tissue profile among adolescents from the three West African countries of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of cephalometry, numerous studies have established normal values for Caucasian populations. In Africa, most investigations have established norms and ethnic variations associated with the skeletal pattern. To date, there has been no study comparing soft tissue patterns among adolescents in the West African sub-region. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this investigation was to determine and compare soft tissue patterns among 12- to 16-year-old Nigerian, Ghanaian and Senegalese adolescents, establish any gender dimorphism and compare them with published Caucasian norms. METHODOLOGY: Lateral cephalometric radiographs of adolescents with a normal incisor relationship aged between 12 and 16 years from Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal were taken under standardized conditions and traced to determine soft tissue patterns. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS: The total sample consisted of 165 females and 135 males with a mean age of 13·96 (1·58) years. A number of soft tissue parameters showed significant differences (P<0·05). These included comparison between males and females, and Nigerian, Ghanaian and Senegalese, including lip separation, upper lip length, upper lip exposure, Li-esthetic line, lower lip-NP, nasal tip angle, N-Pr-Pg, Pg-Ls, B-N pogonion and pogonion-mandibular angle. Differences also existed between these West African soft tissue values and published Caucasian norms, including nasolabial angle, mentolabial angle, nasal depth, nose tip, total soft tissue facial convexity and nasal depth angle. CONCLUSIONS: The comparative analysis of soft tissue patterns among 12- to 16-year-old adolescents from Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal demonstrated statistically significant differences in soft tissue value between these West African adolescents and published Caucasian soft tissue norms. This study provides useful data in relation to soft tissue parameters for subjects originating from the West African sub-region.