Objectives:The objective of the following study is to determine the burden of oral disease and oral hygiene practices among urban population in Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Individuals who attended the free screening exercise as part of activities to mark 2013 World Oral Health Day were recruited for this study. Data were collected through self and interviewer-administered questionnaire and clinical oral examination. Results: One hundred and sixty subjects between the ages of 5 and 78 years participated in the study. Females (59.4%) were significantly (P = 0.005) more than males (40.6%). Most of the participants (57.5%) were between 16 and 30 years. Only 33% of the screened population had visited a dentist and most of the previous visits (91%) were to the Dental Center of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. All the participants cleaned their teeth using toothpaste and toothbrush with 83.4% doing it once a daily. The prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental caries was 91.9% and 23.1%, respectively. Conclusion: The burden of oral disease and unmet dental treatment needs among the study population were high. Majority of the participants cleaned their teeth once daily; this falls short below the internationally recommended twice daily. There is a need to advocate for the creation of an enabling environment for oral health through government policies that will be focused on preventive and restorative care.
Background: Oral systemic interactions have been established by scientific studies through the common risk factor and inflammatory pathways. Since the health practitioners are the ones that those with oral diseases first present to, there is the need for them to be dentally aware so they can help patients get holistic care and thus improve their quality of life. Methodology: One hundred and eighty-five participants in final year in health-related professions (Dentistry, Pharmacy, Medicine and surgery and Nursing) were recruited. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on dental knowledge and service utilization. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 25. Results: Seventy percent participants in Dentistry and Medicine & Surgery knew a dentist should be visited twice yearly. One third of participants in Pharmacy said the dentist should only be visited when there is a toothache (p=0.002). One third of participants from Medicine & Surgery have not heard of dental caries. Participants from Pharmacy had the least knowledge about dental caries, calculus and scaling and polishing (p=<0.001). Half of participants from Medicine & Surgery and Pharmacy did not know that patients with facial swelling should be sent to the dentists for management (p=0.001). Four-fifth of participants from Pharmacy do not know what halitosis is (p= <0.0001). 61.6% of the study population had never had a dental visit and only 14.5% reported to have had regular dental visits. Conclusion: Dental awareness is slightly improved among the students but there is still the need translate knowledge to practice.
Dental education is regarded as a stressful learning environment due to the clinical and laboratory requirements as well as in-depth theoretical knowledge. Therefore the objective of this study was to identify sources of stress among dental students in University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study among undergraduate dental students at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The students were surveyed using a modified version of the Dental Environment Stress (DES) survey. Age, sex, year of study, marital status and monthly allowance were also recorded. All descriptive, as well as inferential statistical analysis, was carried out using SPSS ver. 20.0 and the value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 84 students participated in the study. The median age for the students was 23 years, with a range of 19-30 years. The majority (94.0%) of the respondents were single. The total mean DES score was 2.46. Higher mean DES scores were observed among females, clinical students and those with a more monthly allowance; however, these were not statistically significant (p >0.05). The most common causes of moderate to severe stress were lack of time for relaxation, workload, the responsibility of getting suitable patients and fulfilling clinical requirements. There was no significant difference in the perceived stress levels across gender and level of study. The commonest stressors were workload and lack of relaxation time. There is a need to re-examine the dental curricula to identify ways to reduce workload. Also, there is a need to implement strategies to manage stress among dental students.
Introduction: Gingival bleeding is one of the cardinal signs of inflammatory gum disease which if untreated can lead to periodontal disease and eventual tooth loss. This study assessed the knowledge and clinical presentation of inflammatory gum disease among Nigerians in the South-South geopolitical zone. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were filled by all consenting patients that attended the Oral Diagnosis Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between May and July 2017. Information elicited were socio-demographics, knowledge on causes and sequelae of gingival bleeding. Indices used were Gingival Index (GI), Sulcular Bleeding Index (SBI) and Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S). Data was analyzed using epi-info and level of significance was set at <0.05. Results: 308 participants were recruited with M: F ratio of 1:1.3 and mean age of 34.2(±13.4) years. Two-fifth (42.1%) had gingival bleeding while brushing. Though 51 (36.4%) knew gingival bleeding is abnormal, more than half [35(59.3%)] did not know what caused their bleeding. Some reasons given for gingival bleeding while brushing were dental infection [10 (17.0%)] and hard bristled toothbrushes [98 (13.6%)]. Majority [234(70%)] didn't know the sequelae of untreated gingival bleeding. Clinical examination showed 76(24.7%) had halitosis, 101(32.8%) bled on probing. 131(42.5%) had a gingival index of 2. Mean MGBI and OHI-S were 1.16(±0.9) and 1.74(±0.9) respectively. 33(10.7%) participants had poor oral hygiene. Conclusion: The participants had a poor knowledge of inflammatory gum diseases. There is the need to increase awareness among the populace and encourage prompt treatment thereby reducing its avoidable sequelae like tooth loss.
Background: Research has shown that as high as 90% of patients with renal disease show oral symptoms. Literature supports a bidirectional relation between CKD and periodontal disease. Methods: A cross-sectional survey among patients diagnosed with CKD who attended the renal outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in south-south, Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect participant’s demographics and dental profile. Oral hygiene gingival and dental status were assessed with Simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), gingival index and DMFT. Data analysis was done with IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for windows version 21.0 and results presented as tables. Results: One hundred and seven consenting participants were recruited for the study. Age ranged between18 and 86 years with mean age of 52.93±5.74 years. Median year of diagnosis was 4 years. Hypertension was the major cause of CKD in three-quarters of participant, two-third were in the 4th stage of disease, 95.3% used toothbrush/paste to clean their teeth, 14% brushed twice daily and 18.7% reported interdental cleaning. Only 9.3% of participants regularly visit the dentist and reasons for non-regular visit varied. Four-fifth of participants had poor oral hygiene. Mean OHI-S was 4.52 ±1.46. Four-fifth of participants reported gingival bleeding while brushing. 87.9% had gingival index of 2 and 3. A quarter had xerostomia. Mean DMFT was 0.39±0.87. Conclusion: The oral health status of participants was poor. Oral health care should be incorporated into the management of patients with chronic kidney disease as this will help improve their quality of life.
Background: Gingival overgrowth may be idiopathic or secondary. Drug Induced Gingival Overgrowth (DIGO) occurs within 3 months of treatment and is more prevalent in younger age group with predilection for the anterior gingival tissue and usually not associated with attachment loss or tooth mobility unless there is an existing periodontal disease. Methodology: 170 hypertensive patients were recruited for the study; 85 calcium channel blocker (CCB) and 85 non-CCB users. Interviewer-administered questionnaires was used to obtain socio-demographic information as well as medical and drug history. GO was assessed using New Clinical Index for DIGO and data was analyzed with SPSS version 21 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). Continuous and nominal variables were described with means, standard deviations and frequencies. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Amlodipine was the most commonly used CCB. The prevalence of DIGO in CCB and non-CCB was the same (49.5%). Gingival enlargement was found equally among both sexes in the CCB and non-CCB groups. A third of the participants with GO were 70 years and above while those without were majorly in the fifth and sixth decade of life. Two-third of those with DIGO had fair oral hygiene status, two-fifth had gingival bleeding and three-fifth had mild gingival inflammation. Those without DIGO in both groups had a slight female predominance and majorly good oral hygiene. Associated factors with DIGO were female sex, 60-69 age group, 10mg drug dosage, been on medication less than 10 years, mild gingival inflammation and generalized gingivitis. Conclusion: There was no difference in the prevalence of DIGO between BBC and non-BBC users. However, there was mild gingival inflammation in all participants with DIGO and amlodipine users were three times more at risk of developing DIGO than nifedipine users. Thus, it is imperative to advise the hypertensives on the importance of maintaining adequate oral hygiene measures and incorporate periodontal care in their management so as to ameliorate the side effects of their medication.
Background: Non-surgical periodontal therapy constitutes the first step in controlling periodontal infections, and its outcome is affected by the presence of other systemic diseases and conditions. Obesity is a modifiable risk factor for periodontitis and its effect on the outcome of non-surgical periodontal therapy has not been clearly determined. Aim: To determine the impact of central adiposity on the outcome of non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients with periodontitis. Methodology: This prospective interventional study included 39 obese patients with periodontitis (Group A) and 39 normal?weight patients with periodontitis (Group B). The waist circumference (WC), waist/hip ratio (WHR), waist/height ratio (WHtR), Simplified oral hygiene index (OHIS), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD), number of sites with PPD ≥ 4 mm, and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were measured at baseline and 3 months after non-surgical periodontal treatment. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables between the groups. Independent samples t-tests and paired t-test were used to analyse the numerical intergroup and intragroup data, respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multiple regression analyses were used to assess the strength and impact of central adiposity on periodontal treatment outcomes. Data were analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 and statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: At baseline, the mean PPD and CAL were comparable in both Groups A and B; while the mean percentage of sites with gingival BOP and percentage of sites with periodontitis were significantly higher in Group A. All periodontal parameters significantly improved after treatment in Groups A and B. However, participants in Group B had a better improvement in sites with gingival BOP and percentage of sites with periodontitis after treatment compared to Group A. Multiple regression analysis showed that central adiposity had a significant (P < 0.05) negative impact on the treatment outcome of gingival BOP, PPD and percentage of sites with periodontitis (PPD ≥ 4 mm) after adjusting for age, sex and socio-economic status. Conclusions: The findings indicated that central adiposity has a negative impact on gingival bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth and percentage of sites with periodontitis.
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