CHILD AND MATERNAL ORAL HEALTHCARE: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF NIGERIAN AND GHANAIAN NURSES.

Objective: To ascertain and compare knowledge of child and maternal oral healthcare amongst a group of Nurses and Midwives in Ghana and Nigeria.

Design: A cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Health institutions in Cape Coast, Ghana and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Subjects: One hundred and sixty Nurses and Midwives (80 Ghanaians and 80 Nigerians).

Results: They had an age range of 21-65 years and a mean age of 37.8 (SD ± 9.6) years. Majority of the Nurses in both countries indicated that women should brush their teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste (92.1%), whilst the children should use salt and cotton wool twice daily. Although more of the Ghanaian Nurses (98.8%) considered routine dental visits to be important than the Nigerian population (80%), only 3.8% of the Ghanaian Nurses against 33.8% of the Nigerians indicated there was a connection between oral disease and delivery status. Opinions differed significantly as to the reason for the first dental visit with 65.4% of the Nigerian Nurses indicating this should be when the child has toothache whereas 51.9% of Ghanaian Nurses believed it is when the first tooth erupts. However, four to six years was the common choice for when self brushing should start in both countries.

Conclusion: The knowledge of this group of Nurses and Midwives on maternal and child oral healthcare was insufficient. The Ghanaian Nurses had a better knowledge of preventive dental care than their Nigerian counterparts.