Managing the phase-down of amalgam amongst Nigerian dental professionals and students: A national survey.

BACKGROUND: Amalgam is one of the most reliable dental restorative materials. Health and environmental concerns associated with the mercury content of amalgam have necessitated an amalgam phase-down in clinical practice. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the level of awareness and preparedness for the planned amalgam phase-down recommended by the Minamata Convention amongst Nigerian dental students and dentists. METHODS: This cross-sectional national survey was performed across all geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Data regarding awareness, practice and level of preparedness for amalgam phase-down were obtained using a questionnaire that was distributed amongst clinical dental students and dentists of different cadres, who routinely place dental restorations, in public and private practice. The questionnaires were administered online or were hand delivered. Data were analysed using the chi-square test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. A p value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Notably, 845 dental students and dentists participated in the survey. Mean age (±standard deviation) of participants was 30.15 ± 7.67 years, 33.8% were students, and 66.2% were dentists (most dentists [77.1%] were employed at public hospitals). A significant percentage of respondents had poor knowledge of the Minamata Convention (87.7%) and lacked training in the use of alternatives to amalgam (72.0%). Amalgam continues to be commonly used by 39.1% and 31.3% of dental students and dentists, respectively. Only 4.7% of the respondents admitted to following good amalgam phase-down practices. Awareness (P = 0.013) and amalgam phase-down practices (P = 0.011) were significantly higher amongst dentists than amongst dental students. CONCLUSION: We observed low levels of awareness regarding the Minamata Convention, amalgam phase-down, mercury hygiene practices and training in alternatives to amalgam use amongst Nigerian dental professionals and students.

Teaching of dental implantology to undergraduate dental students: The Nigerian experience.

INTRODUCTION: Dental implantology is an increasingly contemporary integral and important component of the practice of dentistry. This study assessed the level of teaching of dental implantology to dental undergraduates in Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving the use of a self-administered questionnaire consisting of five sections developed for this study. It was sent via e-mail to a dental faculty in charge of and involved in the teaching of dental implantology in all 10 dental schools (five old generation and five new generation) in Nigeria. RESULTS: Eight of the 10 schools teach implant dentistry and utilised didactic lectures as mode of teaching. Simulations were used in only 1 (12.5%) of the schools whilst clinical demonstration was reported by 2 (25.0%) of the schools. Only 2 (25.0%) of the schools allowed students to experience direct patient care with no school expecting students to provide implant treatment. Almost all schools 9 (90.0%) identified insufficient resources and lack of dental industry support as barriers to effective teaching of implant dentistry. All the dental schools had plans to improve teaching of implant dentistry. CONCLUSION: Teaching of dental implantology in Nigeria is mainly theoretical with no clinical competence assigned. A situation which is unsatisfactory as all Nigerian dental schools have plans both in the short term and long term to improve on the teaching of implant dentistry. There is need for industry support as well as improved and effective training of dental faculty in implant dentistry in Nigeria.

Acceptance of removable partial denture for replacement of missing teeth among partially edentulous

Objective: To assess the acceptance of removable partial denture among partially edentulous undergraduates.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data for the study was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 2 sections: the first section sought demographic information (age, gender and marital status) while the second section consisted of 10 questions that tried to find out the prosthetic status of the respondents' missing teeth, awareness of options for replacing missing teeth,preferred treatment options, acceptance of RPD as a treatment option and perception towards the use of RPD for replacement of missing teeth. Results: More than half (56.1%) of the participants had missing anterior teeth while the remaining 43.9% had their posterior teeth missing. Most (60.5%) of the participants had a form of replacement for their missing teeth. More than half (51.6%) of the respondents stated that RPD was the more common treatment options for replacing missing teeth while 23.6% and 24.8% felt RPD was not common and were indifferent respectively. There was statistically significant association between gender and preferred treatment modality for replacing missing teeth (p=0.02) with a higher proportion (66.1%) of male respondents preferring RPD while 32.6% of female respondentspreferred implants. There was statistically significant association between preferred treatment modality for missing teeth and perception of RPD as a form of treatment (p=0.0001) with 66.3% of those who preferred RPD having the perception that RPD was a good form of treatment for missing teeth.Conclusion: Undergraduate students seem to accept removable partial denture as a viable treatment option for replacing missing teeth. The low cost and less time associated with removable partial denture are reasons adduced for its acceptance. More male undergraduates accepted removable partial denture compared to females who preferred implants