Study protocol for a pilot quasi-experimental study on oral health education for nurses and community health workers in Nigeria.

Introduction: The primary health care system provides an ideal setting for the integration of oral health into general health care as well as equitable access to oral health care. However, the limited oral health knowledge of primary health care workers necessitates appropriate training before they can participate in health promotion efforts. This pilot training was designed to examine the impact of the Oral Health Education module for Nurses and Community Health Care Workers on their oral health awareness and referral practices.

Correlates of illness behaviour related to orofacial infections of odontogenic origin among adults in a semi urban community in Nigeria.

Background: Infections of facial spaces in the maxillofacial region occur in most cases as a complication of odontogenic infections. It often results in substantial morbidity, with serious and potentially life threatening outcomes if allowed to progress without prompt medical attention.

Objective: To identify factors that determine illness behaviour related to maxillofacial space infections.

Descriptors of permanent teeth with cariously exposed pulp in patients presenting at a Nigerian hospital.

Aim: To describe the pattern of presentation of carious permanent teeth with pulp exposure and to determine factors associated with choice of treatment for such teeth.

Materials And Methods: All patients presenting at the oral diagnosis clinic of Lagos University Teaching Hospital Dental centre between January 2009 and June 2009 were examined and those with carious lesion involving the pulp were included in the study. The history and character of pain from teeth, extent of tooth structure lost, proposed treatment and reason for proposed treatment was recorded.

Smoking cessation counseling in dentistry: attitudes of Nigerian dentists and dental students.

The study was aimed at assessing the awareness, attitude, practices, willingness, and perceived barriers of dental students and dentists in Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, in relation to smoking cessation in the dental care setting. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire that contained questions relating to attitudes, views, and perceived barriers to smoking cessation activities in the dental clinic was hand-delivered to all dentists and clinical dental students in 2007. One hundred and thirty-six respondents took part in the study (response rate=81.

Coping with oral pain: lay management strategies adopted by patients prior to presentation.

Objectives: To identify lay measures taken by patients in response to oral pain before seeking professional care and to determine factors leading to demand for professional oral health care.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of patients aged 16 years and above who presented with oral pain at the oral diagnosis clinics of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital was carried out. Data was collected by means of questionnaires which sought information on onset and duration of pain, character, aggravating and relieving factors and actions taken by the patients before presentation at the dental clinic.

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens and management of exposure incidents in Nigerian dental schools.

The goal of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational exposures to bloodborne pathogens amongst Nigerian clinical dental students, their HBV vaccination status, and reporting practices. A cross-sectional study of all clinical dental students in the four Nigerian dental schools was carried out by means of an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that asked questions on demography, number and type of exposure, management of the exposures, personal protection against cross infection, and the reporting of such exposures. One hundred and fifty-three students responded (response rate of 84.

Assessment of the compliance of Nigerian dentists with infection control: a preliminary study.

Objective: To assess the compliance of a group of Nigerian dentists with standard infection control practices.

Method: A confidential self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among dentists engaged in active clinical practices in public hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria (n = 185).

Results: One hundred forty-six questionnaires were returned (response rate, 78.