Nigerian Journal of Dental Research

Immediate complete dentures: a case report.

Tunde Joshua OGUNRINDE — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Immediate complete denture is one of the treatment options in patients requiring extraction. It plays a significant role in the immediate restoration of aesthetics and other oral functions. The dentures are fabricated before the extraction of all the remaining teeth and delivered immediately to the patient after the extraction.

Case: This presents a case of a patient with aggressive periodontitis managed with an immediate complete denture. The patient had reservations about conventional complete dentures due to concerns about being seen as edentulous while extraction sockets healed. The patient was satisfied with the simple and economical treatment modality of immediate complete denture.

A rare case of fibrous dysplasia in the mandible: a case report

Samson Emeka OBIRIJA, Mumini Wemimo RASHEED, Juliet Ebele OKONKWO — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a benign fibro-osseous lesion of the bone which can be monostotic FD and the polyostotic form. Polyostotic FD with café-au-lait spots of the skin and hormonal imbalances is called McCune–Albright syndrome. Besides, Mazabraud syndrome is characterized by polyostotic FD and intramuscular myxomas. FD has its onset during childhood or early adolescence and usually occurs within the first or second decade of life.

The mode of presentation of the FD of the jaw ranges from asymptomatic to dental anomalies, pain, and facial asymmetry. Given the clinical history and radiological assessment, cystic lesions have some important differential diagnoses which range from cystic ameloblastoma, fibrous dysplasia, aneurysmal bone cyst, and odontogenic keratocyst.

Case report: This presents a 19-year-old female who presented to the maxillofacial surgeons’ clinic with a referral from a peripheral hospital. Her major complaint was right-sided facial swelling which was noticed 4 years before the presentation. A plain radiograph revealed an expansile lesion of the mid-right mandible appearing as a well-outlined, fairly oval multiloculated cystic radiolucent mass with multiple internal septations. A preliminary diagnosis of a complex cystic right jaw mass with benign features was made with possible differential diagnoses such as ameloblastoma, fibrous dysplasia, aneurysmal bone cyst, and odontogenic keratocyst were suggested as possible differential diagnoses. Finally, she had an excision biopsy with a histological diagnosis of fibrous dysplasia. The outcome of the surgery was satisfactory at one year review.

The Use of Teledentistry for Patient Care among Dentists in Nigeria

Mathew Asizide SEDE, Adebola Oluyemisi EHIZELE, Nneka Maureen CHUKWUMAH — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Objectives: To determine the proportion of Nigerian dentists presently utilising Teledentistry, factors affecting its use, means of communication and devices used and their opinions on it acceptability, effectiveness and suitability in dental practice.

Methods: A Survey Monkey online poll was used to collect data on participants’ demographics, their use of Teledentistry, perceived benefits and challenges of Teledentistry, as well as opinions on its acceptability, effectiveness, and suitability. The chi-square test was used to determine statistically significant differences between groups.

Results: Out of 119 participants, 62.2% do not currently utilize Teledentistry. Less than half (42.6%) with internet access at work and 12.5% with internet access only at home utilize Teledentistry (P=0.016). Cell phones and personal computers are the only devices used but 60% of participants in public health care used cell phones (P= 0.425). The majority (94.9%) of the study participants agreed that Teledentistry can be used to connect patients with specialist care that may not be readily available but only 47.1% agreed to the use of Teledentistry for specialized care of patients. Eighty-four per cent agreed that the cost of telecommunications equipment for Teledentistry can be a cause for concern and 66.4% agreed that privacy is still a concern in Teledentistry.

Conclusion: The use of Teledentistry among Nigerian dentists is currently low and access to the Internet during work hours may increase Teledentistry utilisation. Cell phones and personal computers are commonly used in both public and private dental centers. Although many Nigerian dentists consider Teledentistry effective, there are a few concerns about its acceptability and suitability for use in their dental practice

Assessment of knowledge of the association between periodontitis and systemic conditions among clinical medical and nursing students

Grace O ALADE, Uwaila ALADE — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Periodontitis has been linked to some systemic conditions. The knowledge of this association by qualified health professionals and those in training is very vital in holistic patient care.

Objective: To assess knowledge of the association between periodontitis and systemic conditions among clinical medical and nursing students

Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among clinical medical and clinical nursing students of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. A total of 200 questionnaires were administered with 156 properly filled. Section A of the questionnaire had questions on the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, while section B included questions on the assessment of participants’ awareness and knowledge regarding the possible link between periodontitis and some systemic conditions. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0 with p ? 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results: A total number of 156 clinical medical and nursing students participated in the study, 99 (63.5%) were females, while the remaining 57 (36.5%) were males. The age range of the participants was 19-35 years with a mean age of 23.31 ± 2.50 years. Of the 156 participants, 85 (54.5 %) were clinical medical students while 71 (45.5%) were clinical nursing students. 74.4% of the medical students and 35.7% of the nursing students knew that there was a possible link between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus (p=0.000). 54.9% of medical students and 30.0% of nursing students agreed that there is a possible link between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (p=0.001). Using Bloom’s concept, 69 (81.2%) of the medical students and 53 (74.6%) of nursing students demonstrated low knowledge about the link between periodontitis and systemic conditions,

Conclusion: There was an inadequate level of knowledge of the possible association between periodontitis and some systemic conditions among the participants. Hence, there is a need to include oral health education in the undergraduate curriculum of both medical and nursing students.

Comparison of Clinical and Self-Reported Halitosis among Secondary School Adolescents in Maiduguri, Borno State Nigeria.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Halitosis is of extreme relevance in adolescents due to their peculiar predisposition to conditions that affect social relationships.

Objective: To assess the factors associated with halitosis and compare its prevalence using self and clinical reports among secondary school adolescents in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among one hundred and fifty 12-18-year-old secondary school students in Maiduguri. The multistage sampling technique was used for the selection of participants and data was collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire on socio-demography, knowledge of the aetiology of halitosis, oral hygiene practices and self-perception of halitosis. A trained and calibrated examiner did clinical halitosis by organoleptic assessment. A chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were done to determine the association between the investigated factors and halitosis. The level of test of significance (p) was set at < 0.05

Results: The prevalence of self-reported halitosis was 17.3 % while using the organoleptic method (clinical halitosis), about 12 (8.0%) had slight to moderate halitosis. There was no statistically significant association between self-reported halitosis and halitosis determined using the organoleptic method. Among the investigated factors, frequency of brushing and gingival bleeding were found to be statistically significantly associated with self-reported halitosis, (aOR 3.64; p=0.032) and (aOR 3.06; p=0.045) respectively.

Conclusion: Adolescents reported halitosis more than was clinically present which may have led to more aggressive oral hygiene practices. There is therefore the need to increase awareness on halitosis and proper oral health behaviour in adolescents in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Oral hygiene practices and status of stroke patients attending an outpatient clinic in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: There may be an impairment of oral self-care post-stroke which may compromise oral hygiene and health. However, there is paucity of information on oral hygiene and oral health status of stroke patients in Nigeria.

Objective: To assess the oral hygiene and health status of stroke outpatients.

Method: A cross-sectional study of stroke patients attending the neurology outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria was conducted. Data on sociodemographic variables and oral health behaviour was obtained. Each patient was examined to determine the oral hygiene status using the Simplified Oral Hygiene index, DMFT index for the status of caries, Modified gingival index for the presence or absence of gingival disease and Modified Rankin score for functional impairment

Results: There were 120 participants with a mean age of 60.30±13.21 years. Poor oral hygiene status was found in 29.7% while 28.8% had good oral hygiene status. The mean DMFT was 1.37±2.672. Dental caries was seen in 48/120 (40%) while 28 (23.3%) had gingival diseases. A modified Rankin score of 3-5 was independently associated with poor oral hygiene status (OR 1.367; 95% CI 1.020-1.832; p=0.036).

Conclusion: Poor oral hygiene status is common in patients with stroke and the risk of this is higher in those with poor functional status. Oral health status should be considered in the holistic rehabilitation of stroke patients.