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Abstract Background Nigeria, like many other countries, faced challenges in dental care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating limited care to emergencies only. However, the impact of restricted access to dental services on oral health remains a concern, particularly w ith preventive maintenance care. This study aims to identify the factors associated with dental service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic among patients attending dental clinics in Nigeria, and their sources of information about COVID-19. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 500 participants who had visited dental clinics before and during the pandemic. Data were collected through telephone interviews and online questionnaires betw een September and December 2021. Inferential analyses were conducted using ordered logistic regression models to assess the association between the independent (awareness of emergency dental treatments, knowledge of COVID-19 transmission routes in dentistry, awareness of required preparations in dental practice settings, fear of COVID-19 infection in dental settings), and dependent (utilization of dental services during the pandemic) variables after adjusting for confounding variables (age, sex, educational status, COVID-19 vaccinations status and COVID-19 status of live-in residents). The sources of COVID-19 information by dental patients was also identified. Statistical significance was established at 95% confidence level with a p value

ABSTRACT Background: Dental emergence staging involves the utilization of a group of teeth to categorize the dentition into deciduous, mixed, adolescent and permanent. The various stages serve as guides for clinical intervention. Aims: This present study was conducted to determine the onset of the various dentition stages among a group of Nigeria children. Materials and method: it was a cross-sectional descriptive study and data were collected over a fourteen-month period among clinically healthy 424 participants comprising of 186 male and 238 females aged 4-15 years and analysed using SPSS statistics 22.0. The mean ages of onset of the various dental stages, the overall dental stages and the dental stages of each jaw were compared according to gender using unpaired t-test. Statistical significance level was set at P0.05. Conclusion: The results shows that female participants attained early mixed dentition, late mixed dentition and adolescent dentition earlier than males. However, males had early attainment of the intermediate mixed dentition. The average age of the fully erupted first and second permanent molars which also tend to have occurred earlier among the females. Therefore, there is the need to individualized staging of the dentition stage to guide the appropriate timing of treatment intervention. Keywords: Dental emergence, Dental eruption, Dentition stage

Abstract Maternal mental health affects their children’s oral health. This study assessed the associations between maternal mental health and dental anxiety level, dental caries experience, oral hygiene, and gingival status among 6- to 12-year-old children in Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study that recruited mother-child dyad participants through a household survey conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Data collected included the independent (maternal mental health risk, depressive symptoms, and child’s dental anxiety), and dependent (caries experience, oral hygiene status, and gingival health status) variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the associations between dependent and independent variables after adjusting for confounders (mothers’ age, child’s age, sex, and socioeconomic status). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Of the 1411 mothers recruited, 1248 (88.4%) had low mental health risk, and 896 (63.5%) had mild depressive symptoms. As for the children, 53 (3.8%) had caries, 745 (52.8%) had moderate to high dental anxiety, 953 (63.0%) had gingivitis and 36 (2.6%) had poor oral hygiene. The maternal mental health risk was not significantly associated with the child’s caries experience (AOR: 1.012; 95%CI: 0.860–1.190; p = 0.886), poor oral hygiene (AOR:1.037; 95%CI: 0.975–1.104; p=0.250), and moderate/severe gingivitis (AOR:0.887; 95%CI: 0.764–1.030; p = 0.115). Maternal depression status was not significantly associated with the child’s caries experience (AOR: 0.910; 95%CI: 0.802–1.033; p = 0.145), poor oral hygiene (AOR: 1.016; 95%CI: 0.976–1.057; p = 0.439), and moderate/severe gingivitis (AOR: 0.963; 95%CI: 0.861–1.077; p = 0.509). Maternal mental health risk and depression do not seem to be risk factors for schoolchildren’s oral health in Nigeria. Further studies are needed to understand these findings.

Little is known about how family-level factors influence children’s caries prevention views and practices in Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to assess the associations between family level characteristics and caries prevention views and practices of 6–11-year-old primary school children. Data was collected through a cross-sectional survey of 1326 children in Ile-Ife, a Nigerian suburb. The child’s family structure, size, and birth rank were independent variables while the child’s caries prevention views and self-care practices were dependent variables. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify risk indicator(s) for caries prevention views and practices. The study participants’ mean (SD) age was 8.7 (1.9) years, 407 (30.7%) children had positive caries prevention views, and 106 (8.0%) children did not use the recommended self-care caries preventive methods. Children from larger families had significantly lower odds of having positive prevention views (AOR: 0.572; p = 0.002). Children who were not living with both parents had higher odds of using recommended self-care caries preventive methods (AOR: 3.165; p = 0.048). The findings suggest that family size and family living structure may be social determinants of caries risks in children 6–11 years old in the study population. These findings need to be studied further.

Objective: To evaluate the pattern of traumatic dental injuries among children, adolescents, and adults. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytic study of children and adults who presented with dental trauma. Data utilized for this study were sociodemographic characteristics, history of the traumatic incident, presenting complaints, traumatized teeth and classification of the traumatized tissues using Ellis and Davey’s classification. Results: A total of 163 participants with 307 traumatized teeth were included in the study. The participants' age ranged from 2 years to 75 years, with a mean age of 25.36 ±15.4 years. Children 40 years (16.6%). A higher proportion of the study participants were female 83 (50.9%) and the most prevalent complaint was broken teeth (57.1%) The most prevalent aetiology of the trauma documented was fall (36.2%). The most prevalent injury type was extended crown fracture with noticeable dentinal involvement without pulp exposure. There was a statistically significant association between injury type, aetiology and age group. Conclusion: Traumatic dental injuries affect children, adolescents and adults alike. The central incisors were the most vulnerable teeth across all age groups. Age was significantly associated with the etiology of dental trauma and injury type.

Abstract Background This study determined the association between mental health and risky oral health and sexual health behaviours. Methods A household cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria between December 2019 and January 2020. Data were collected from 10 to 19-year-old on the sociodemographic profile (age, sex at birth and socioeconomic status); mental health problems (psychological distress, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation); and mental (smoking habit, consumption of alcohol, use of psychoactive substances), sexual (history of vaginal or anal sexual intercourse; transactional sex, multiple sex partners, use of condom at last sexual intercourse) and oral (frequency of daily tooth brushing, daily frequency of consumption of refined carbohydrate in-between-meals, frequency of use of dental floss, history of dental service utilization in the last 12 months and dental anxiety) health risk factors. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between risky oral (neglecting to brush twice daily and frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals), and sexual (neglecting to use condoms during the last sex act and having multiple sex partners) health behaviours as outcome variables, and mental health status as the explanatory variables. An ordinal logistic regression model was also developed where the outcome variable was the number of risky health behaviours. The models were adjusted for the socio-demographic variables and history of dental service utilisation in the last 12 months of the survey. Results High psychological distress was significantly associated with lower odds of frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals (AOR = 0.32; 95%CI 0.23, 0.47), and having multiple sex partners (AOR = 0.10; 95%CI 0.02, 0.57); but higher odds of having a higher number of risky behaviours (AOR = 3.04; 95%CI 2.13, 4.33). Having depressive symptoms was significantly associated with higher odds of neglecting to use condom at the last sexual intercourse (AOR = 7.20; 95%CI 1.94, 26.76) and having multiple partners (AOR = 95.43; 95%CI 24.55, 370.90). Suicidal ideation was significantly associated with lower odds of neglecting to use condom at the last sexual intercourse (AOR = 0.00; 95%CI 0.00, 0.00) and having multiple sex partners (AOR = 0.00; 95%CI 0.00, 0.00). Conclusion The associations between psychological distress and oral and sexual health risk behaviours in adolescents seem complex and need to be studied further.

Abstract Introduction Sexual and oral health are important areas of focus for adolescent wellbeing. We assessed for the prevalence of sexual abuse among adolescents, oral health factors associated with this history, and investigated whether sexual abuse was a risk indicator for dental anxiety, caries experience and poor oral hygiene. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted between December 2018 and January 2019 among adolescents 10–19 years old in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Survey data collected included respondents’ age, sex, and socioeconomic status, oral health risk factors (dental anxiety, frequency of tooth brushing intake of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals, flossing, dental visits, smoking, alcohol intake, use of psychoactive substances), caries experience, oral hygiene status, history of sexual abuse, and sexual risk behaviors (age of sexual debut, history of transactional sex, last sexual act with or without condom, multiple sex partners). Regression models were constructed to determine the association between outcome variables (dental anxiety, presence of caries experience and poor oral hygiene) and explanatory variables (oral health risk factors and history of sexual abuse). Results The prevalence of sexual abuse in our cohort was 5.9%: 4.3% among males and 7.9% among females. A history of sexual abuse was associated with alcohol consumption (p = 0.009), cigarette smoking (p = 0.001), and a history of transactional sex (p = 0.01). High/severe dental anxiety was significantly associated with increased odds of a history of sexual abuse (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.10, 2.98), but not with caries experience (AOR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.15, 2.97) nor poor oral hygiene (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI 0.95, 2.96). Dental anxiety was associated with increased odds of alcohol intake (AOR = 1.74; 95% CI 1.19, 2.56), twice daily tooth brushing (AOR = 1.48; 95% CI 1.01, 2.17) and daily consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals (AOR = 2.01; 95% CI 1.60, 2.54). Caries experience was associated with increased odds of using psychoactive substances (AOR = 4.83; 95% CI 1.49, 15.62) and having low socioeconomic status (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI 0.18, 0.92). Poor oral hygiene was associated with increased odds of having middle socioeconomic status (AOR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.05, 1.93) and daily consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between-meals (AOR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.08, 1.78). Conclusion Adolescents who are highly dentally anxious need to be screened for a history of sexual abuse to facilitate access to professional care and support.

Abstract Objectives We describe the prevalence, and individual and familial risk indicators for dental caries and gingivitis among 10–19-year-old adolescents in Ile-Ife, South-West Nigeria. Methods This cross-sectional study collected data through household surveys conducted between December 2018 and January 2019. Adolescents were recruited through multistage sampling. Oral health outcomes were caries, measured by the ‘Decayed, Missing due to caries, and Filled Teeth’ (DMFT) index, and gingivitis, measured by the Loe and Silness gingival index. Explanatory variables were individual (sex, age, oral health perception) and familial (socioeconomic status, birth rank, family size and parental living status) factors. Oral health behaviors (daily tooth-brushing, use of fluoridated toothpaste, consuming refined carbohydrates in-between meals, use of dental floss, dental service utilization in past 12 months, and smoking habits) were treated as confounders. Poisson regression models with robust estimation were constructed to determine associations between explanatory factors and oral health outcomes. Results A total of 1472 adolescents were surveyed. Caries prevalence was 3.4%, with mean (standard deviation) DMFT of 0.06 (0.36) and plaque index of 0.84 (0.56). Only 128 (8.7%) adolescents brushed their teeth twice daily, 192 (16.1%) used dental floss daily, 14 (1.1%) utilized dental services in the last 12 months, and 508 (36.1%) consumed refined carbohydrates in-between meals less than once daily. The proportion of respondents who currently smoked cigarettes was 1.6%, and 91.7% of respondents used fluoridated toothpaste daily. The adjusted prevalence ratio of having caries increased by 18% for every additional age-year (APR: 1.18; 95% CI 1.004, 1.34). Additionally, participants with high socioeconomic status had significantly lower prevalence of caries compared to those with lower status (APR: 0.40; 95% CI 0.17, 0.91). Moderate/severe gingivitis was significantly associated with higher frequency of consuming refined carbohydrates in-between meals (APR: 2.33; 95% CI 1.36, 3.99) and higher plaque index scores (APR: 16.24; 95% CI 9.83, 26.82). Conclusion Caries prevalence increased with increasing age and was higher among Nigerian adolescents with low socioeconomic status, while moderate/severe gingivitis was associated with frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates and higher plaque index score. While behavioral interventions may reduce the risk of gingivitis, structural interventions may be needed to reduce the risk for caries in this population.

Abstract Objective None of the past studies that had showed a linked between oral and mental health among adolescents was conducted in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to determine the association between gingivitis and depression among adolescents in Ile-Ife, South-West Nigeria. Methods This cross-sectional study collected data through a household survey conducted between December 2018 and January 2019. Adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old were identified using multistage sampling. The study outcome measure was gingivitis, measured by the Löe and Silness gingival index. The explanatory variable was depression, measured by the Patient Health Questionnair. Confounders considered were age, sex, socioeconomic status, frequency of daily tooth brushing, oral hygiene status (measured by the plaque index), consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between meals, use of dental floss, and history of dental service utilization in the past 12 months. A logistic regression model was constructed to determine risk indicators for moderate/severe gingivitis. Additionally, modification of associations between dependent variables and the significant risk indicators of depression was assessed. Results Mean plaque index for the 1,087 adolescent participants enrolled in the study was 0.80. We found a prevalence of 8.5% for moderate/severe gingivitis and 7.9% for depression. In adjusted regression, there were significant associations between the presence of moderate/severe gingivitis and consumption of refined carbohydrates in-between meals (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.14, 3.28) and plaque index (OR 16.56, 95% CI 10.03, 27.33). Depression also significantly modified the association between plaque index and the presence of moderate/severe gingivitis (P

The interconnectedness of oral, mental, sexual, and reproductive health (OMSRH) in adolescence lends itself to the exploration of novel approaches to facilitate comprehensive access of this population to the relevant health services. This paper proposes an integrated one-stop-shop approach to increase adolescents’ access to OMSRH care by leveraging on dental clinics as a template for integration. The interconnectedness of oral, mental, sexual, and reproductive health (OMSRH) in adolescents prompts exploration of novel approaches to facilitate comprehensive access of this population to the relevant health services. This paper proposes an integrated one-stop-shop approach to increasing adolescents´ access to OMSRH care by leveraging on dental clinics as a template for integration, using a non-stigmatized platform to deliver stigmatized healthcare. Novel proposals are needed to enhance adolescents´ access to health care they are in dire need of. Effective, integrated health care for this population is lacking, especially across various health areas. This is a proposal for leveraging dental clinics for integrated OMSRH care, using facility-based services, to adolescents. Emphasis will be placed on reducing stigma as a barrier to service accessibility, acceptability, equitability and appropriateness. Empirical studies will be required to test the feasibility, validity and effectiveness of this proposed model.

Abstract Background Developmental defects of the enamel (DDE) increase the risk for diseases that impact negatively on the quality of life. The objective of this study was to compare the oral health quality of life of children with molar-incisor-hypomineralisation (MIH) and enamel hypoplasia; and assess if caries worsened the impact of these lesions on the quality of life. Methods This study recruited 853 6 to 16-years-old school children. They filled the Child-OIDP questionnaire. The MIH, enamel hypoplasia, caries and oral hygiene status was assessed. Poisson regression was used to determine the impact of MIH and enamel hypoplasia on the oral health quality of life, after adjusting for the effect of sex, age, socioeconomic class, oral hygiene and caries status. Results The prevalence of MIH and enamel hypoplasia was 2.9% and 7.6% respectively. There was no significant difference in the mean child-OIDP scores of children with or without MIH (p = 0.57), children with or without enamel hypoplasia (p = 0.48), and children with enamel hypoplasia with and without caries (p = 0.30). Children with enamel hypoplasia and caries had worse outcomes for speaking (p = 0.01). Children with middle (AOR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.60–4.67; P

Context: Parents are often concerned about their children's nonnutritive sucking (NNS) habits and may institute mechanisms to try to break them. Aim: The study identified various methods instituted by mothers resident in a suburban Nigeria to break NNS habits of children, reasons for wanting to break the habit, and the association between instituted methods and sociodemographic profile of the mothers. Materials and Methods: The data of 129 mothers of children aged 4 years to 12 years who had NNS habits at the time of conducting a household survey were analyzed. Statistical Analysis: Tests of associations were conducted to determine the association between maternal age and level of education and methods employed to break child's NNS habits. Results: Eighty-four mothers (65.1%) made efforts to break the habit. Habit persisting to older age was the main concern. The most common method employed for breaking habits was punishing the child (54.8%).Only 7 (20.0%) mothers who were concerned about NNS habit(s) sought professional advice. A greater though insignificant percentage of mothers in the 25–34 years age group (57.2%; P = 0.48) and those with secondary school level of education (56.0%; P = 0.12) made efforts to break their children's NNS habits. Conclusions: The majority of mothers were concerned about their children's NNS habits. However, very few concerned mothers sought professional advice. Efforts need to be made to improve the public awareness about the availability of professional services for managing NNS habits and potential impact of employing nonprofessional methods to break habits.

OBJECTIVES:Non-nutritive sucking (NNS) is a common behavior in childhood. The association between digit sucking, dental caries and oral health has been studied with inconclusive results. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of, and the association between digit sucking, caries and oral hygiene status of children age six months to 12 years, resident in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ife Central Local Government Area of Osun State. Data were collected through a household survey using a multi-stage sampling procedure from children between six months and 12 years. Details of each child's socio-demographic characteristics, digit sucking habits, caries status and oral health status were collected. The association between digit sucking, caries status and oral hygiene status was determined using Chi square and Logistic regression. RESULTS:The mean age of the 992 study participants was 5.8 ± (3.2) years. The prevalence of digit sucking, caries and poor oral hygiene were 7.2%, 10.5% and 2.4% respectively. The mean dmft score was 0.22 ± (0.80), mean DMFT score was 0.04 ± (0.30) while mean Oral Hygiene Index score was 1.27 ± (0.73). Digit sucking increased the odds of having caries (OR: 1.28; CI: 0.58-2.81) but decreased the odds of having poor oral hygiene (OR: 0.58; CI: 0.34-1.01) insignificantly. CONCLUSIONS:Digit sucking was not a significant predictor of caries and oral hygiene status, although the odds of having caries increased while the odds of having poor oral hygiene decreased with digit sucking.

Abstract Oral hygiene, which is measured by the status of plaque-free tooth surfaces, is essential for the promotion of oral health. This study aimed to determine the social predictors of good oral hygiene for children in a suburban population in Nigeria. This was a secondary analysis of data. The study participants were 8- to 16-year-old children who were residents in Ile-Ife, which is a suburban population in Nigeria. Information on the age, gender, socioeconomic status, family structure, number of siblings and birth rank of each study participant was retrieved from the an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Oral hygiene status was determined through a simplified-oral hygiene index (OHI-S) and categorized as good, fair and poor. The association between oral hygiene status and sociodemographic variables was determined. The predictors of good oral hygiene were determined using a binomial regression analysis. Data on 2,107 individuals were retrieved, of which 44.8% had good oral hygiene and 17.1% had poor oral hygiene. The odds of having good oral hygiene were reduced for children who were 13 to 16 years old (p = 0.02) or male (P=0.002) and children with low socioeconomic status (p ≤ 0.001). The odds of having good oral hygiene increased for children who were last-born compared with those who were first-born (p = 0.02). Age, gender, socioeconomic status and birth-rank were significant social predictive factors of oral hygiene status among the study population. Based on these findings, targeted interventions can be conducted to improve the oral hygiene status of children and adolescents with these social profiles.