LASU Journal of Dental Sciences

AWARENESS OF ORAL MEDICINE SPECIALTIY AND MANAGEMENT APPROACH OF ORAL MEDICINE CASES SEEN BY MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS IN A TERTIARY HEALTH INSTITUTION IN SOUTH WEST OF NIGERIA

Adebowun I ABAH — 2021-08-12

BACKGROUND: Oral Medicine, an aspect of Dentistry that deals with oral mucosal diseases and oro-facial manifestation of systemic diseases, is an evolving specialty in developing parts of the world.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the awareness of Oral Medicine specialty among medical practitioners, and to assess the management methods of Oral Medicine cases seen by them.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire as a tool. The questionnaire was reproduced, pretested, modified and thereafter, distributed to medical doctors: (house officers, residents and consultants) during break time at their various lounges. Emails and telephone conversations were also used. The questionnaire captured biodata; what is Oral Medicine specialty, the cases seen and the condition mostly diagnosed by the medical personnel; if the patients were treated, referred, and to whom? Statistical analysis was done using SPSS window version 25. Quantitative variables were obtained. P-value was set as ≤0.05

RESULT: Four hundred and fifty-two participated in the study. There were 249 males and 203 females, with M: F ratio of 1.2: 1. The mean age was 30.11±6.6. Three hundred and nine (68.4%) of the participants have heard of the specialty. One hundred and eighty-seven (60.5%) have seen cases with oral lesions, among which 45 (24.1%), did not refer. Halitosis was the condition mostly diagnosed 106(23.5%). The clinic that they mostly refer the cases to was Oral Medicine 107(5.4%). There was an association between awareness of the specialty and age, with the awareness exhibited mostly among the older age group (P=0.032). Similarly, there was also an association between job cadre and the specialty, with the consultant most aware (P=0.013).

CONCLUSION: Most of them were aware of Oral Medicine specialty with the awareness displayed more by the consultants. The majority referred oral medicine cases to oral medicine specialists, but a significant proportion still referred to other specialties. The delay can affect the quality of life of the patient.

The study has, therefore, emphasized the need for an interdisciplinary relationship between Oral Medicine specialists and the medical personnel.

PATTERN OF TOOTH LOSS AND IT’S IMPACT ON ORAL HEALTH QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG PATIENTS IN LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL IKEJA LAGOS NIGERIA. (LASUTH).

Olugbenga Adetokunbo ADENUGA-TAIWO — 2021-08-08

OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study was to determine the impact of tooth loss on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients in LASUTH based on their pattern of tooth loss.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This observational study, utilising a structured interviewer administered questionnaire followed by a clinical examination.Oral examinations were performed usingVVHO criteria for caries diagnosis- DMFT index.The instrument used to assess OHRQoL was °HIP-14. The OHIP-I4 scores ordinal to scale values and dichotomized into low, moderate and high impacts; statistical significance was set at 5% level.
RESULTS: Females made up a higher proportion of respondents presenting with tooth loss (76; 63.3%). Most missing teeth were in the maxilla (66; 55%) and dental caries was the most frequent cause of tooth loss (57; 47.5%). Poor aesthetics (38; 46.9%) was the most frequently cited reason for seeking prosthodontics care. Loss of premolars and molars were significantly associated with a high negative impact on OHRQOL (p<0.01). The most frequent high oral impacts were in the domains of self-consciousness due to missing teeth (23; 19.2%); embarrassment (20; 16.7%) and discomfort on chewing (20; 16.7%), while difficulty doing usual jobs was the least affected by high impacts (3; 2.5%). No socio-demographic characteristic was significantly associated with tooth loss.
CONCLUSION: Our analyses showed OHRQoL gradients consistent with the type of tooth lost with high impacts on oral function and pain experience.This demonstrates importance of masticatory inefficiency and chewing difficulties related to tooth loss.These findings suggest a need for oral health promotion strategies to prevent tooth loss and also to replace missing teeth.

AN AUDIT OF NECK BIOPSIES DIAGNOSED AT THE ORAL PATHOLOGY DEPARTMENTAL LABORATORY OF A TERTIARY CENTER

Adeola LADEJI — 2021-08-08

Clinicians are trained to approach diagnosis of neck pathologies through an organized and efficient diagnostic method. This is however impossible without adequate knowledge of the differentials of neck pathologies, their frequencies and socio-demographic characteristics. This study aims to determine the range and analyze the socio-demographics of neck pathologies seen at the Oral Pathology laboratory of the Lagos State University College of Medicine.

METHODOLOGY

This is a retrospective study conducted at the Oral Pathology laboratory of the department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine, Lagos State University College of Medicine, over a period of five years and six months (January 2013 to June 2019). Information regarding the type, frequency, age, gender and site distribution of neck pathology were retrieved from the archival records of the Oral Pathology laboratory. Lesions were grouped into 6 categories, namely: Lymphomas, Chronic granulomatous infections, Salivary gland neoplasms, Reactive lesions, Developmental lesions and Non Specific lymphadenitis. Ethical approval was obtained and statistical analysis done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21. Level of statistical significance was set at p value <0.05.

RESULTS

Neck pathologies constituted 5.6% (49 cases) of the 873 head and neck biopsies received within the study period. Lymphoma group was the largest category of lesions constituting 55.1% (27 cases), followed by the Salivary gland neoplasms and developmental lesions, each with 12.2% (6 cases). Lesions were seen within the age range of 2 to 82 years, with a mean age of 39.9±21.2 years. Relationship between type of lesion and age group was significant at p=0.03. There was a slight male predominance with a Male: Female ratio of 1.1:1. Lateral neck accounted for 89.6% of all neck lesions. There was a strongly significant relationship between type of lesion and the site at p=0.000

CONCLUSION

A diverse range of pathologies can be encountered in the neck, with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas being the most predominant. It is however important that clinicians and pathologists equip themselves with knowledge of these differentials and their socio-demographics, as this will go a long way in better patient management.

PERIODONTAL STATUS AND TREATMENT NEEDS OF COMMUNITIES IN LAGOS, NIGERIA: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Olubunmi O. ONIGBINDE — 2021-08-08

Periodontal disease is an oral disease with a high prevalence in the world, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria.
AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of periodontal disease, the periodontal health status, and treatment needs of some communities in Lagos, Nigeria.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive study with cross-sectional design. A total of 500 participants were selected from four Communities in Lagos state. The sociodemographic data obtained included age, gender, educational status, and frequency of tooth brushing. The periodontal status and treatment need assessed with the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) and oral hygiene status was assessed using the Oral Hygiene Index simplified (OHI-S) Data was analyzed using SPSS while chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables; significance was determined at p value less than 0.05.
RESULTS:The prevalence of periodontal disease was 85.2%. Calculus (code 2) was the most prevalent.The oral hy-giene status was good in 32.2%, fair in 49.8%, and poor in 18.0% of the respondents. The CPITN score of codel was found in 12.6%, code 2 in 62.4%, and code 4 in 2.2% of the sample. In total, 70.4% required oral hygiene instruction and oral prophylaxis, while 2.2% required complex periodontal treatment. The educational status, age and oral hy-giene status were significantly associated with the CPITN scores (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION:The prevalence of periodontal disease was high in this study population. Gender, educational status and OHI-S score were statistically significant in association with CPITN. Most participants required oral hygiene instruction and oral prophylaxis. To prevent or minimize the progression of periodontal diseases, there is need to implement preventive programs that are beneficial to the society.

FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF RESTORATIVE MATERIALS AND AWARENESS OF MINAMATA CONVENTION AMONG DENTAL PRACTITIONERS IN A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN NIGERIA

Ifeoma Nkiruka MENAKAYA — 2021-08-08

There are many restorative materials in use today, each with its unique selling points. They include products like dental amalgam, composite resin, glass ionomer cement and compomer. They can be used in the treatment of dental caries in posterior teeth. However, dental amalgam has generated the most controversy because of its content of mercury.

Objective: To determine the attitudes and practices towards the treatment of dental caries as well as the level of awareness of the Minamata declaration among restorative dentists and dental students in a tertiary dental institution in Lagos, Nigeria.

Method: A structured questionnaire was administered to all the dentists and students involved in restorative treatments. The questionnaire assessed the factors that determined the choice of materials among the respondents. The respondents were divided into three categories based on professional experience to group 1 comprising students and house officers, group 2 comprising medical officers and registrars and group 3 comprised of senior registrars and consultants.

The respondents were aged between 23 and 60 years and comprised 20 males and 25 females. .Results: Dental amalgam (100%), composite resin (97.8%) and glass ionomer cement (95.6%) were the materials the respondents were most conversant with as well as being the most frequently placed (80%, 71.1%, and 84.4% respectively). Significantly however, compomer was mostly used by group 1 respondents (p=0.009). The commonest factors affecting choice of restorative materials were availability of restorative material (93.3%), age of patient (82.2%), this was statistically significant (p=0.013), tooth type (88.9%), cost of restoration (86.7%), type of tooth defect (88.9%) and patient’s preference (73.3%). Level of awareness was highest among Group 3 respondents and least among Group 2 respondents (p = 0.045). Conclusion: While majority of the respondents still prefer and place amalgam, the steps to making a choice of restorative material are intricate. Again, almost half of the study respondents were unaware of the Minamata Convention while awareness of the Convention was highest among the most experienced professional category

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND MERITS OF CLINICAL GENOMICS AMONGST CANCER CLINICIANS IN NIGERIA

Eyituoyo OKOTURO — 2021-08-08

Genomic sequencing has increasingly been instituted to improve the understanding of molecular causes of cancer, and to help inform patient's diagnosis and treatment.There are several challenges to the integration of clinical sequencing into routine clinical practice in Africa, such as clinicians' attitude and literacy to genomics, and experience working with genomics.The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge of genomic education amongst African cancer clinicians and their attitude towards adopting genetics in their practices.
METHODS We conducted a survey amongst cancer clinicians at a tertiary level hospital, in Lagos, Nigeria between September 2019 to April 2020.The survey instrument was an I 8-item self-report questionnaire which comprised of six sections. Some sections were categorised, and each category ranked.
RESULTS A total of 35 participants took part in the study with predominantly 77% male respondents. Majority (57%) of the re-spondents were > 5 years in the practice of oncology. Majority (60%) of the respondents ranked themselves as "knowl-edgeable" to basic genetics and less knowledgeable to advance genetics. 69% of respondents rated sufficiency of genomic education as low in medical schools and clinical training institutions. 83 — 89% of respondents ranked the im-portance of genomics to clinical practice as major but clinicians' attitudes towards the clinical application of genomics remains sceptical.
CONCLUSION While there were limitations to this study, our results showed overwhelming support for the introduction of genomics in today's cancer diagnostics and treatment.

ORAL HYGIENE KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICES AND DENTAL SERVICES UTILIZATION PATTERN OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN LAGOS. Lasu-jds;1(1):22 – 25

Olubunmi. O. ONIGBINDE — 2021-08-18

Objective: Health professionals are an invaluable group of workers that can potentially promote oral health but there is however, scarcity of information on the knowledge and awareness of health professionals in Nigeria. The present study aimed to determine the knowledge and practices of oral hygiene as well as dental services utilization of health professionals in Lagos State.

Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study conducted on a cross-section of health professionals (Medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dentists and dental technicians etc.) in LASUTH and General Hospitals in Lagos and Randle. A validated Self-administered questionnaires were used to obtain the participants’ bio data, questions assessing knowledge and practices of oral hygiene, as well their utilization of dental services. The data analysis was done with SPSS version 21 and p-values <0.05 were taken as significant.

Results: A total of 304 questionnaires were returned filled. Majority 205(67.4%) of participants utilize toothbrush and paste to clean their teeth and 225(74.0%). mainly once daily. Only 70(23.1%) of participants’ floss regularly. Most 210(69.1%) of the participants had visited the dentist before and mainly 67(22.0%). for scaling and polishing. A significant proportion of the participants 66(21.7%) felt no need for a dental visit. Only one hundred and forty-six 146 (48.0%) participants had good oral hygiene knowledge which was significantly higher among the medical cadres (p< 0.005)

Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practice of oral hygiene among this group was limited and there is a need to update their knowledge through the inclusion of dental modules in the training of health workers as well as an increase in the dental component of the continuing medical education program of the hospital.