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Key note address at the Biennial General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Dental Association in April 2008: I congratulate the Nigerian Dental Association on this occasion of the 2008 Biennial General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association. In particular, I congratulate the Executive Committee for all they have done to ensure that the Association is actively involved in the professional activities of the Medical and Dental Counncil of Nigeria. I thank the Association for inviting me to be the Keynote Speaker at this meeting. I have been asked to speak on the title \'Implications of low dental awareness in Nigeria\'. As a community dentist, I reckon that this topic is coming at the right time. I intend to share my views on this stimulating topic with you all, hoping that at the end of the tunnel, there will be a light, a light for us to see brighter in the profession and to brighten the communities we serve.

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of dental visits among secondary school students in Lagos State and to identify factors influencing the use of these services. Materials and Method: The study was a cross- sectional one comprising of secondary school students aged 10-19 years in Lagos State. They were selected by a multistage sampling method from 4 secondary schools in 2 (1 Urban and 1 Rural) Local Government Areas of the state. After obtaining an informed consent, a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was filled after by each student. Data were collected on their demographic characteristics, visit(s) to the dentist in the previous 12 months, reasons for these dental visits, factors preventing subsequent dental visit and barriers to visiting the dentist for those who made no previous visit. The data collected were analyzed with an SPSS version 11.5 using Chi square statistics to test for association and differences. Results: Five hundred and two students aged 10-19 years (mean 14.1 ± 0.22) participated in the study. The students had a dental visit prevalence of 14.9% in the previous 12 months, with 69.3% of the visits prompted by pain. The dental visit prevalence varied significantly with age (p = 0.019), being higher (18.1%) in the younger age group (10-14 years) than 10.5% in the older age group (15-19 years). Reasons for no previous visits ranged from “No dental problem” to “fear of the dentist. Eighteen out of the 75 who made previous dental visits were dissatisfied with the treatment received hence refused to visit again. Conclusion: The level of utilization of dental services was very low and the standard measure of one visit per year to the dentist was not met. There is need for a “School oral health program” which will promote oral health awareness and encourage routine dental checkups among these students.

Objective: To determine the Periodontal Treatment Needs of urban and rural population in Edo State, Nigeria, and ascertain if there is any difference, using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). Method: All patients who reported at the venue selected rural and urban centres during a sixteen month period participated in the study. A questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information of each subject after which oral examination was carried out. Result: A total of 2161 subjects (769 urban and 1392 rural), aged 10 years and above participated in this study. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of periodontal disease between urban and rural areas (P < 0.05), which spanned across all age groups and sexes. There was no significant difference in the mean number of sextant by age and sex. Only 0.9% of rural subjects had no periodontal disease, compared to 7.7% urban subjects. More of the rural subjects (94.4%) needed scaling and polishing plus oral hygiene instructions (TN2) when compared to urban subjects (74.8%). Conclusion: The study showed that, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the Periodontal Treatment Needs (TN) between urban and the rural areas. The type of treatment most required by both urban and rural populations was scaling and polishing and oral hygiene instructions.

Objective: HIV/AIDS is a modern day plague, which is a challenge to dentistry. The willingness of dentists to treat HIV positive patients is crucial in the provision of oral health care to this increasing population of patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the willingness of dentists and factors that influence willingness of Nigerian dentists to treat HIV infected patients. Method: A descriptive study of two hundred and fifty dentists practicing in both private and public dental clinics in Southwest Nigeria was carried out. Results: The majority of the dentists (63.6%) expressed willingness to treat HIV infected patients. Willingness of the dentists was significantly associated with gender (p = 0.021), awareness of known HIV patient attending the clinic (p = 0.000), having treated a known HIV patient (p = 0.00), not having fears about HIV (p = 0.001) and attendance at postgraduate courses (p = 0.025). Conclusion: Willingness on the part of the dentists in this study is commendable and it is similar to other African countries. However there is room for more improvement, as any form of unwillingness constitutes a barrier to oral health care for the increasing population of HIV infected patients. There is need for continuing education for dentists to remove the fear of acquiring HIV/AIDS occupationally and improve cross - infection control.