This review article focuses on mass disaster situations that may arise from natural or manmade circumstances and the significant role of forensic dental personnel in human identification following such occurrences. The various forensic dental modalities of identification that include matching techniques, postmortem profiling, genetic fingerprinting, dental fossil assessment and dental biometrics with digital subtraction were considered.The varying extent of use of forensic dental techniques and the resulting positive impact on human identification were considered. The importance of preparation by way of special training for forensic dental personnel, mock disaster rehearsal, and use of modern day technology was stressed. The need for international standardization of identification through the use of Interpol Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) for ms was further emphasized.Recommendations for improved human identification in Nigerian situation include reform of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), incorporation of dental care in primary health care to facilitate proper ante mortem database of the populace and commencement of identification at site of disaster.

We found regional variation in the pattern of distribution of SGN in Nigeria. This is the largest multicenter study of SGN in Nigeria, and our findings are robust and representative of the epidemiology of this neoplasm in Nigeria.

IntroductionOral cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths among African populations. Lack of standard cancer registries and under-reporting has inaccurately depicted its magnitude in Nigeria. Development of multi-centre collaborative oral pathology networks such as the African Oral Pathology Research Consortium (AOPRC) facilitates skill and expertise exchange and fosters a robust and systematic investigation of oral diseases across Africa.MethodsIn this descriptive cross-sectional study, we have leveraged the auspices of the AOPRC to examine the burden of oral cancer in Nigeria, using a multi-centre approach. Data from 4 major tertiary health institutions in Western and Southern Nigeria was generated using a standardized data extraction format and analysed using the SPSS data analysis software (version 20.0; SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL).ResultsOf the 162 cases examined across the 4 centres, we observed that oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) occurred mostly in the 6th and 7th decades of life and maxillary were more frequent than mandibular OSCC lesions. Regional variations were observed both for location, age group and gender distribution. Significant regional differences was found between poorly, moderately and well differentiated OSCC (p value = 0.0071).ConclusionA multi-centre collaborative oral pathology research approach is an effective way to achieve better insight into the patterns and distribution of various oral diseases in men of African descent. The wider outlook for AOPRC is to employ similar approaches to drive intensive oral pathology research targeted at addressing the current morbidity and mortality of various oral diseases across Africa.

Aim:Though many studies have examined cysts of the jaws, most of them focused on a group of cysts and only few have examined cysts based on a particular classification. The aim of this study is to review cysts of the oro-facial region seen at a tertiary health centre in Ibadan and to categorize these cases based on Lucas, Killey and Kay and WHO classifications.Materials and Methods:All histologically diagnosed oro-facial cysts were retrieved from the oral pathology archives. Information concerning cyst type, topography, age at time of diagnosis and gender of patients was gathered. Data obtained was analyzed with the SPSS 18.0.1 version software.Results:A total of 92 histologically diagnosed oro-facial cysts comprising 60 (65.2%) males and 32 (34.8%) females were seen. The age range was 4 to 73 years with a mean age of 27.99 ± 15.26 years. The peak incidence was in the third decade. The mandible/ maxilla ratio was 1.5:1. Apical periodontal was the most common type of cyst accounting for 50% (n = 46) of total cysts observed. Using the WHO classification, cysts of the soft tissues of head, face and neck were overwhelmingly more common in males than females with a ratio of 14:3, while non-epithelial cysts occurred at a 3:1 male/female ratio.Conclusion:This study showed similar findings in regard to type, site and age incidence of oro-facial cysts compared to previous studies and also showed that the WHO classification protocol was the most comprehensive classification method for oro-facial cysts.

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