This study assessed the practice of disposing of waste from the eight dental clinics of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. All the cleaners (14) in the hospitals were surveyed through questionnaire. Information obtained from the cleaners included socio-economic characteristics (biodata), personal protection, facilities available for them to work with and job satisfaction. Two soil samples were obtained from the open dump site (0.15 and 0.30 m depth) and two water samples were also collected (at 0.00 and 50.00 m) within the vicinity of the dump site. Both the soil and water samples were taken to the central science laboratory for chemical analyses. Ten (71.4%) of the 14 cleaners were not satisfied with their job. The laboratory findings suggested a very high content of lead, chromium, mercury, cadmium and manganese in both soil and water samples in comparison with the Nigerian Federal Environmental Protection Agency standards. The study concludes that the use of tooth-coloured restorative materials and digital X-ray facility to serve as alternatives to the generation of these wastes is recommended and that farming activities should not be allowed in the area until an audit of the soil and water have been performed.

IntroductionVarious studies have reported poor awareness and knowledge of dentistry in the Nigerian population. There is, however, paucity of information assessing the knowledge and awareness of medical doctors/students and nurses about dentistry. The present study is aimed at determining the knowledge and awareness of medical doctors/students and nurses about dentistry.MethodsSelf-administered questionnaires were randomly distributed among medical doctors/students, and nurses of Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospitals’ Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Information collected using the questionnaire included participants’ biodata, questions evaluating dental awareness, knowledge of systemic and oral health connections as well as referral practices. The data analysis was done with STATA version 11 software.ResultsA total of 300 questionnaires were randomly distributed among doctors/students and nurses, 206 were returned (response rate of 69%). Of the returned questionnaires, 129(63%) were males and 77(37%) were females. There were 42 medical doctors, 49 nurses and 115 medical students. The mean age of the participants was 26.7 years (SD 5.2). Majority (99.5%) was aware of dental profession, but 92% had never referred patients for dental consultation. One third (31%) of medical doctors believed that Ludwig angina was a cardiac disease. A large proportion of the respondents (61%) see no need for routine dental visit while 27% would want to visit the dentist only when they had a dental complaint.ConclusionAlthough a large percentage of the participants claimed to be aware of dentistry, our findings revealed low level of knowledge and attitude to Dentistry. Efforts should be made towards closing this knowledge gap to achieve efficient oral health.

Changes that occurred in the pattern of tooth extraction in the last 13 years among a population of children in Nigerian were studied. The result of this study was then compared to that of a past study done in the same institution 13 years earlier. Information on age, gender, and indication of tooth extraction was collected prospectively from 379 consecutive patients who visited the outpatient Pediatric Dental Clinic for the first time during the year 2002. Results showed tooth extraction due to caries decreased, while there was an increase in tooth extraction from an apparent increase in orthodontic treatment needs. Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG), a significant cause of tooth loss in the last decade, decreased significantly. The pattern of deciduous tooth loss also changed as more anterior teeth were lost for orthodontic reasons in this present study. The pattern of tooth loss in the permanent dentition remains very similar to that of the past study, though more premolars were lost in the present study. There appears to be an increasing need for tooth extractions in orthodontic treatment for this population of children. The focus of planned dental health care provisions, treatment policies, and training emphasis in child dental care may need to shift to addressing orthodontic needs. Citation: Foloyan MO, Otuyemi OD, Esan TA, Adeleke AA, Adedigba MA. Pattern of Dental Extraction in Children in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital. J Contemp Dent Pract 2005 May;(6)2:080-090. Abstract © Seer Publishing

This study revealed a high-level misconception among secondary school pupils in Osun state, Nigeria. Mass media was the major source of information with doubtful effectiveness evidenced by obvious erroneous beliefs. An improved multisectorial approach in HIV/AIDS education with greater participation of school and public libraries is advised.

Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the awareness of patients with dental fillings about the toxicity of mercury in dental amalgam. Materials and methods Adult patients having at least one amalgam filling in their mouth were recruited in the Oral Diagnosis Department of OAUTHC, Ile-Ife Dental Hospital. Participants were recruited consecutively as they report in the clinic. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire developed based on standard questions from relevant publications. They were asked to indicate the type of filling material in their mouth, ingredients of the material, previous knowledge of mercury in dental amalgam and ailments due to mercury. They were to indicate their level of agreement with filling their cavities with dental amalgam despite prior information about its mercury content. Results There were about 446 respondents analyzed; male, 194 (43.5%); female 252 (56.5%). Six (1.4%) and 21 (4.7%) respondents were primary and secondary schools students respectively; 15(3.4%) had no formal education while about 410 (91.9%) were either undergraduate or graduate. All of them had at least one amalgam filling. 249 (55%) participants know the type of filling on their teeth; 156 (34.5%) had the knowledge of the presence of mercury in dental amalgam while 26.1% believed mercury can cause problems in human beings. About 90 (19.9%) participants claimed to have heard about adverse reactions to dental amalgams and 34 (7.5%) of them have heard about people recovering from an illness after removal of their filling. The level of agreement with filling their cavities with amalgam despite prior knowledge of its mercury content was 74% while 60% was observed for allowing just any material to be placed on their teeth. Conclusion Awareness of toxicity of mercury in dental amalgam was slightly low among the respondents studied. This may be suggested to be a reflection of nonexistent of global amalgam controversy in Nigeria. How to cite this article Bamise CT, Oginni AO, Adedigba MA, Olagundoye OO. Perception of Patients with Amalgam Fillings about Toxicity of Mercury in Dental Amalgam. J Contemp Dent Pract 2012;13(3):289-293.

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The first case of HIV infection was reported in Nigeria in 1986. Since then, the prevalence has risen from less than 0.1% in 1987 to 5.8% in 2002, and an estimated 3.6 million Nigerians now live with HIV/AIDS. More than 40 oral manifestations of HIV infection have been recorded and between 70% and 90% of persons with HIV infection will have at least one oral manifestation at sometime during the course of their disease. Oral health-care workers (OHCWS) are expected to play active roles in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. In this study, a one-day workshop was organized for 64 oral health workers in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, focusing on the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, the oral manifestations, control and prevention of HIV in a dental environment, oral care of the infected patient and the ethical, legal and social aspects of HIV/AIDS. Participants' knowledge and practices of infection control were assessed with an infection control checklist administered pre- and post-workshop. Sixty (90.8%) respondents believed that HIV/AIDS was not yet a problem in Nigeria, and 58 (90.6%) believed that drugs have been developed which can cure HIV infection and AIDS. The men complied more with waste disposal regulations than women (P = 0.010). Twenty-nine of 58 (50.0%) did not discard gloves which were torn, cut or punctured. Seven (12.1%) did not change gloves between patients' treatment. Conscious efforts should be made to train OHCWS on all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention and care. It must never be assumed that adequate information will be acquired through tangential sources.

The study investigated whether parenting style, parental level of education and smoking peers have any influence on the smoking behaviour of adolescents and young adults. The participants were students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in the sample selection. Three hundred students who consented participated in the study. A self constructed questionnaire was used to collect the data. The validity of the instrument was determined. The reliability of the instrument was also determined using test retest method. Correlation coefficient of 0.75 was obtained. This study revealed that there is a significant influence of parenting style on the smoking behaviour of students (x2 = 36.03, df = 6, p 0.05). It also showed that there is a significant relationship between parents' educational attainment and students' smoking behaviour (x2 = 60.40, df = 6, p 0.05). Finally, it was revealed that there was a significant influence of peers on smoking behaviour (x2 = 19.97, df = 2, p 0.05).