Use of dental floss: opinion of present and future oral health workers.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the use of dental floss among all cadres of present and future dental health workers, in a Nigerian teaching hospital, and their opinion on the use of dental floss in the management of periodontal diseases.

Methodology: A 30-item questionnaire was used to elicit information on respondents’ demographics, their opinion about the use of dental floss in the management of periodontal diseases and their personal use of dental floss. It also elicited information on respondents’ practice of recommending dental floss to dental patients and how confident they are in their ability to properly demonstrate the use of dental floss to the patients.

Oral diseases and diabetes: Nigerian medical and dental caregivers' perspective.

Objectives: The objective was to determine the knowledge of medical and dental caregivers regarding the link between oral diseases and diabetes mellitus (DM); and their role in the management of the oral complications of DM.

Materials And Methods: This comparative study was carried out among a group (n = 100) of resident doctors undergoing postgraduate training in medicine and dentistry at a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. A 28-item self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and it elicited information on respondents' demographics, practice behaviors, knowledge about link between oral diseases, and DM, as well as their knowledge about oral complications of DM.

Oral Health Inequalities between Rural and Urban Populations of the African and Middle East Region.

Although there have been major improvements in oral health, with remarkable advances in the prevention and management of oral diseases, globally, inequalities persist between urban and rural communities. These inequalities exist in the distribution of oral health services, accessibility, utilization, treatment outcomes, oral health knowledge and practices, health insurance coverage, oral health-related quality of life, and prevalence of oral diseases, among others. People living in rural areas are likely to be poorer, be less health literate, have more caries, have fewer teeth, have no health insurance coverage, and have less money to spend on dental care than persons living in urban areas.

Assessment of pain among a group of Nigerian dental patients.

Background: Pain is considered a key symptom associated with possible impairment of oral-health-related quality of life and its assessment is important for the planning and evaluation of preventive and treatment effort. The tools for assessing pain must therefore be valid and consistent. The objective of this study was to assess dental patients' level of pain based on the clinical diagnosis of their dental condition and the correlation between two pain assessment scales, Visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Full Cup Test (FCT), for the assessment of pain among dental patients.

Relationship between obesity and oral diseases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between obesity and periodontal status and dental caries experience of a group of Nigerian dental patients.

Materials And Methods: Participants were selected from patients attending dental outpatient clinics of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. Their weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) estimated in kg/m 2 , gingival health assessed using bleeding on probing index, oral hygiene estimated using the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), periodontal health estimated using the basic periodontal examination (BPE) and caries experience was estimated with the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index.

Dental care knowledge and practice of a group of health workers in benin city, Nigeria.

Background: The correlation between knowledge of dental care knowledge and its practice varies among the different health professionals.

Aim: The aim of the following study is to assess the knowledge and practice of health workers in a private medical health facility on dental care.

Subjects And Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on the health workers in Faith Medical Center, Benin City, Nigeria.

Assessment of a group of nigerian dental students' education on medical emergencies.

Background: The training of dental students in the management of medical emergencies is of utmost importance as they may encounter some of these emergencies at some point in their career.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the medical emergency education in a Nigerian Dental School.

Subjects And Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 124 final year dental students of the University of Benin, Benin City.

Relationship between self- perception of malodour and actual estimation of malodour in a group of dental patients.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the concentration of volatile sulphur compounds in mouth air of young adult and their self perception of malodour and also to determine the relationship between the organoleptic assessment of young adult and their perception of malodour.

Patients And Methods: A total of 400 willing participants were studied and they were grouped into two based on the health of their periodontium. Subjects were asked for self perception of malodour and organoleptic assessment was done to assess the level of malodour using the Rosenberg 0-5 scoring system.

Oral assessment and nursing interventions among Nigerian nurses-knowledge, practices and educational needs.

Background: Assessment of oral condition, oral care, and informing the attending doctor of unusual oral findings for possible consultation or referral to a dentist are the advocated roles of hospital nurses. The objective of the study was thus to assess the roles of Nigerian nurses in the assessment of oral conditions of hospitalized patients.

Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of all nurses caring for hospitalized patients in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital was conducted in the first half of 2010.

Effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the concentration of volatile sulfur compound in mouth air of a group of nigerian young adults.

Background: The major goal of non-surgical periodontal therapy is to reduce or eliminate the subgingival pathogenic microbial flora that is known to be associated with volatile sulfur compounds (VSC).

Aim: The aim of this study was, therefore, to determine the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the concentration of VSC in mouth air of young adults.

Subjects And Methods: Four hundred subjects, grouped into two based on the absence or presence of periodontal diseases, were involved in this study.

Relationship between the concentration of volatile sulphur compound and periodontal disease severity in Nigerian young adults.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the concentration of volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) in mouth air and the severity of periodontal diseases in young adults.

Materials And Methods: A total of 400 subjects were studied. Estimation of periodontal disease severity was done using the basic periodontal examination (BPE) and the baseline measurement of the concentration of VSC in the mouth air of the subjects was done objectively using the Halimeter(®).

Nigerian dental therapy students' knowledge, attitude, and willingness to care for patients with HIV.

The objective of this study was to assess Nigerian dental therapy students' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to care for patients with HIV. A twenty-six-item questionnaire was used to conduct a cross-sectional study of the dental therapy students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria. The level of knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention among the respondents was high.

Nigerian clinical level medical students' knowledge of dental specialty.

Background: The roles of physicians in oral healthcare delivery are very important due to the unequal distribution of the low oral health manpower as well as the lack of awareness of patients concerning the treatment of oral health problems by dentists in Nigeria.

Aim: To assess the Nigerian clinical level medical students' knowledge of dental problems and conditions in relation to the dental specialty that treat them.

Subjects And Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of clinical level medical students of University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, was conducted between May and June, 2010.

Hepatitis-B vaccination status among dental surgeons in benin city, Nigeria.

Background: The development of success-oriented hepatitis-B vaccine uptake approach among dental surgeons is dependent on the availability of comprehensive baseline data.

Objective: To determine the hepatitis-B vaccination status among dental surgeons in Benin City.

Materials And Methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of dental surgeons in Benin City was conducted in May 2011.

Prevalence of tobacco use among dental patients and their knowledge of its health effects.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of tobacco use in dental patients, to compare the knowledge of the effects of tobacco in tobacco users and nonuser, to determine their source of information, and to obtain their opinion on strategies that may be used to reduce or stop tobacco consumption.

Materials And Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 400 patients attending the University of Benin Teaching Hospital dental clinic for treatment was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire.

Results: The result revealed that the prevalence of tobacco use is 4.

Nigerian dental students' compliance with the 4As approach to tobacco cessation.

Objective: To assess the Nigerian dental students' present effort at tobacco cessation assistance using the simple stepwise 4As model.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all the final level dental students in the Nigerian premier dental schools was carried out using a pretested self administered questionnaire.

Results: The response rate was 98.

Expectations and perceptions of Nigerian patients regarding infectious diseases in dentistry.

Objective: To assess the expectations and perceptions of Nigerian patients regarding infectious diseases in dentistry.

Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional survey of patients attending the dental centre of University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria was conducted in 2009.

Results: Out of the 405 patients that responded, 75.

Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among Nigerian primary school teachers.

Background: A multi-disciplinary approach is needed for effective dental education of children. Teachers can be used as oral health educators but only if they have a good knowledge, attitude and practice of oral health. This study's main objective was to compare the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of public and private primary school teachers and to determine the proportion of teachers presently involved with oral health education of school children.

Nigerian dental students' willingness to treat HIV-positive patients.

Dental care of HIV-positive individuals plays a vital role in improving their nutritional intake, medication tolerance and effectiveness, treatment success rate, and quality of life. It is therefore important to ensure optimal dental care of this group of people, especially since more of them, with or without knowledge of their serologic status, are now utilizing dental services. The objective of this study was to assess Nigerian dental students' willingness to treat HIV-positive individuals.

Preventing HIV Transmission in Nigeria: Role of the Dentists.

Background: As healthcare providers, dentists are in a unique position to foster behavioural changes that are needed to stem the spread of HIV infection. This study was conducted to assess the role of dentists in the prevention of HIV transmission in Nigeria.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted from June 2006 to January 2007.

Perceived oral health status and treatment needs of dental auxiliaries.

Objective: To determine the perceived oral health status and treatment needs of Nigerian dental therapists in training and dental technology students.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of students from Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology Enugu, Nigeria was conducted using self-administered questionnaire to obtain information on demography, self-reported oral health status, knowledge of impact of oral health on daily life activity, dental attendance and perceived dental need.

Results: The perception of oral health status and treatment need of the two groups of dental auxiliaries was the same.

Tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students.

Objective: To determine the tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology Enugu, Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on demography, frequency, duration and technique of tooth brushing and tongue cleaning as well as information on consumption of snacks.