BackgroundThe rate of total edentulism is said to be increasing in developing countries and this had been attributed mainly to the high prevalence of periodontal diseases and caries. Several reports have shown that non-disease factors such as attitude, behavior, dental attendance, characteristics of health care systems and socio-demographic factors play important roles in the aetiopathogenesis of edentulism. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between socio-demographic factors and edentulism.MethodsA total of 152 patients made up of 80 (52.6%) males and 72 (47.4%) females who presented in two prosthetic clinics located in an urban and a rural area were included in the study. The relationship between gender, age, socio-economic status and edentulism in this study population was established.ResultsNo significant relationship between gender and denture demand was noted in the study. The demand for complete dentures increased with age while the demand for removable partial dentures also increased with age until the 3rd decade and then started to decline. A significant relationship was found between denture demand and the level of education with a higher demand in lower educational groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the lower socio-economic group had a higher demand more for prostheses than the higher group.ConclusionsThe findings in this study revealed a significant relationship between socio-demographic variables and edentulism with age, educational level and socio-economic status playing vital roles in edentulism and denture demand.

(1) There is great variation in the size of elderly population; (2) duration of training and content of dental education curriculum varies; (3) geriatric dentistry has not been established as a standalone course in dental schools in the majority of the countries, (4) most countries, with the exception of Japan, lack adequate number of dentists trained in geriatric dentistry as well as training programs, and (5) geriatric dentistry-related research has increased in recent years in scope and content, although the majority of these papers are not in English.

The practice of implant dentistry is presently very low in Nigeria. Clearly, there is a need for dental implant education for Nigerian dentists to increase their knowledge and proficiency in dental implant dentistry. In addition, all efforts should be made to include implant education and practice in dental curricula in undergraduate and postgraduate institutions in Nigeria.

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Background:The rehabilitative dental care is important for maintaining adequate nutrition, guarding against wasting syndrome and malnutrition among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals.Aim:The aim of this study is to determine the Nigerian dental technology students’ knowledge and misconceptions about HIV infection and their willingness to care for HIV-infected patients.Subjects and Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study of dental technology students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology Enugu, Nigeria was conducted in 2010. Data was subjected to descriptive, non-parametric and parametric statistics using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 (Chicago Illinois, USA). P < 0.05 was considered significant.Results:The knowledge about the mode of HIV transmission and prevention among the respondents was high with some misconceptions. Specifically, the misconceptions about HIV transmission through a mosquito bite (P = 0.02) and shaking of hands (P = 0.03) were higher among respondents in the higher class than those in lower class. However, 10.6% (21/198), 6.1% (12/198) and 4.0% (8/198) of the respondents erroneous described HIV as harmless, self-limitation and antibiotics responsive infection respectively. Of the respondents, 78.8% (156/198) and 83.3% (165/198) of them expressed willingness to care for HIV-infected patients and expressed need for training in the clinical care of HIV-infected patients respectively. Overall, the respondents opined that the dental therapists are the most suitable dental professional to pass HIV-related information to patients in the dental setting ahead of dentists and dental surgery assistants.Conclusion:The expressed willingness to care for HIV-infected patients, knowledge about the mode of HIV transmission and prevention among the respondents were high with existent misconceptions. There were no significant differences in the knowledge about HIV infection and willingness to care for HIV-infected patients among respondents in the lower class and those in upper class.

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Objective: To determine the sociodemographic factors that affects the usage of complete dentures. Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to edentulous patients seen in a prosthetic outpatient department of the

Background:Tooth replacement service is generally available in our environment. However, its utilization by the elderly has not been extensively studied.Aim:To determine the utilization of tooth replacement services among the elderly.Materials and Methods:This was a retrospective study of 440 patients aged 60 years and above attending the prosthetic out-patient clinics of Lagos University teaching hospital (LUTH) and Lagos state University teaching hospital (LASUTH) from January, 2008 to March, 2010. record books or case records: Age, sex, and number of teeth replaced. Results were collated and analyzed using Epi Info 2004. Values were presented as simple percentages.Results:There were 229/440 (52.0%) males and 211/440 (48.0%) females and were aged 60-90 years with a mean age of 68.9 (6.92). A total number of 4,062 teeth were replaced. Average number of tooth replaced among the patients was 9.45 for LUTH and 8.94 for LASUTH. The maxillary anterior teeth were the most frequently replaced 1422/4062 (35.0%) and the least replaced were the mandibular posterior teeth 812/4062 (20.0%). The average number of tooth replaced generally increased with age in both sexes. A total of 90 complete maxillary and mandibular dentures were fabricated, while six single arch complete dentures were made. The remaining were partial dentures.Conclusion:The most common age of presentation is 60-65 years. Patients that were 90 years and above appear to utilize teeth replacement facilities in this environment less than those in developed countries. Maxillary anterior teeth were the most frequently replaced.