Aims: To assess oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices among 12 years old pupils in Lunacy, Zambia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted involving 12 years old children from seven randomly selected urban and peri urban primary schools in Luanshya. A close ended self administered questionnaire adopted from Peterson and Stenberg was used to gather information pertaining to knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 and chi square test was used to test for differences in associations where significance was assumed when p≤0.05. Results: A total of 412 pupils with male to female ratio of 1.1:1.0 participated in this study. Majority (91.3%) had adequate knowledge on dental caries while 66.7% had adequate knowledge on periodontal diseases. Most of the participants (76.5%) knew plaque can be prevented by brushing and flossing. More than half of the participants (59.7%) knew causes of gum bleeding and majority (76.4) were aware that bleeding gums can be prevented by brushing and flossing. Only 10.9% were of the opinion that restoration is a better treatment of tooth ache compared to extraction. Majority (84.5%) agreed that regular dental visits are important, however only 10.0% of the participants reported to have visited their dentist regularly within the past one year. Only 11.4% brushed their teeth twice or more in a day and while (0.3%) reported to use dental floss as tooth cleaning gadget. Conclusion: Awareness on oral hygiene among participants in this study was generally adequate. Majority thought treatment of a tooth is as important as of any other organ in the body. Tooth extraction was reported as a better option than restoration. Oral health promotion programs are needed to improve oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices among pupils. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, Oral hygiene, 12 years old pupils, Zambia
Aim: To determine awareness and perception of oral health services and their influence on the utilization of oral health services. Subjects and Methods: A total of 353 simple randomly selected pupils aged 11-20 years at Chifubu secondary school in Ndola participated in the study. Data was collected using structured close ended self administered questionnaire which inquired on socio-demographics, awareness and perception of oral health services. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. The chi square test was used to test for associations where significance was assumed when p≤0.05. Results: Majority of respondents were aged 16 to 20 years (52.4%), 52.7% boys, and 51.8% were in grade 10 - 12. Most participants reported to have received some oral health information (81.6%) mainly from teachers but 86.7% were not aware of specific oral health procedures. The overall perception on oral health among those who agree was 58.6%, while 47% disagree on the overall perception on the utilization of dental services. The main reason for utilizing the service was pain and bleeding. The main reasons for not seeking care were that they never thought it was important (31.2%), distance (17.3%) and cost (15%). The utilization of services was associated with age p= 0.029. Overall awareness was associated with age p= 0.046 and grade p= 0.007. Students with a positive utilization on oral health tended to be younger (p<0.001) and in lower grades (p<0.001). Conclusion: The majority of respondents were not aware of the dental services. Therefore, awareness campaigns are required on available oral health services. Perception of oral health was not statistically different by age, sex and grade. Most respondents had never utilized oral health services. Keywords: Awareness, Perception, Oral health services, students, Ndola, Zambia
Background: Periodontal diseases have been reported to be associated with cardiovascular diseases. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the periodontal status and treatment needs among adult cardiac patients in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Methodology: A hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information, followed by clinical examination for dental plaque, gingival bleeding, calculus, periodontal pockets (PPT) and gingival recession. To enable determination of periodontal treatment needs, data for periodontal conditions was transformed into Community Periodontal Index and Treatment Needs (CPITN) codes. Chi-square test was used to determine the associations of periodontal conditions with demographic variables studied. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of periodontal conditions was high for gingival bleeding (100%), dental plaque (99.4%)and calculus (99.7%), but very low for periodontal pockets ≥ 3.5 mm (9.4%). Statistically significant higher mean percent site with plaque, calculus and gingival bleeding was seen in posterior teeth ( t -tests = -16.07, 12.22, and -4.8; p< 0.001 respectively). Gingival recession and loss of attachment was statistically significantly higher in upper teeth ( t -test= -3.45, p< 0.001), anterior teeth (t-test= 6.3 and 5.5; p< 0.001 respectively). Periodontal treatment needs was 100.0%, 99.7%, and 0.9% for oral hygiene instructions (OHI), scaling and root planing (SRP), and periodontal surgery respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of plaque, calculus and gingival bleeding was high among cardiac patients examined, but low for periodontal pocketing, gingival recession and loss attachment. The periodontal treatment needs were mainly oral hygiene instructions, scaling and root planning. Surgical periodontal therapy was limited to the few. Keywords: Periodontal status, cardiovascular diseases, cardiac patients, treatment needs, Muhimbili National Hospital
Aim: To determine the oral hygiene practices and oral health care seeking behaviours among primary school teachers. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among primary school teachers from public schools in Ndola district, Zambia.The primary schools were selected using stratified random sampling method. Chi square test was used to determine differences in oral hygiene practices and oral health care seeking behaviours between males and females teachers. The level of significance set at 5%. Results: Most of the respondents (92.7%) brushed their teeth at least twice daily. Toothpick and flossing were used to clean in between the teeth by 68.5% and 23.5% of the respondents respectively. About three quarters reported that regular dental visits were important. About three quarters (71.6%) reported to have paid dental visit during the last one year. The most common reasons for dental visit were relief of pain (66.2%), regular (preventive) visit (28.9%), and bleeding gums (17.4%). Regular visit to the dentist were thought to be important by 71.6% respondents. Conclusion: Most of the respondents reported brushing teeth twice or more per day. Two third reported to use tooth picking to clean in between teeth. Toothache was the main reason for dental attendance. A quarter of respondents reported regular dental visits. It is recommended that oral health staff give information to clients seeking treatment on the importance of regular dental visits. Keywords: Oral hygiene practices; health seeking behaviours; School teacher; Zambia
Background: Traumatic dental injuries in children are increasingly becoming a serious dental public health problem worldwide. Despite this fact, less attention has been directed to this problem compared to other common oral problems like dental caries. Aims: To determine the prevalence, causes and correlates of traumatic dental injuries among grades 4 to 7 pupils in Ndola Urban. Design : A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2015. Methods: Multistage sampling technique was adopted to select participants from 9 zones of Ndola District. Traumatic Dental Injuries (TDI) were classified according to modified Ellis classification. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic, prevalence, causes, treatment and consequences of trauma. Clinical examination was done using a mouth mirror under natural light. Epi Data version 3.1 was used for data entry while SPSS version 16.0 was used for data analysis. Chi-square test was used to determine correlates for TDI. P-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Out of 1570 children, 49 (3.1%) had TDI. Of the 49 children who had TDI, 44(89.9%) sustained one tooth injury. The most affected tooth was maxillary central incisors 47(95.9%) and class 1 was the commonest injury 35(71.4%). Most accidents occurred at home 31(63.3%) with the commonest cause implicated being playing sport (40.8%). None of the participants with TDI had received treatment following the injury at the time of examination. Conclusion: Prevalence of traumatic dental injuries was low. None of the injured had been treated. Keywords: Traumatic dental injuries, prevalence, causes, permanent incisors
Background: In the period of adolescence, dental appearance takes on significant importance in the construction of personal identity and this may influence psychological adjustment and relationship status. Objective: To determine perception on dental appearance among adolescents in Kigali secondary schools. Material and methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 768 students in three secondary schools in Kigali city. The schools and classes were randomly selected; a sstructured questionnaire modified from Tin-Oo et al (2011) were used to gather information on particulars, perception and satisfaction on dental appearance, perceived factors and OIDP from the study participants. The SPSS version 16 was used to analyze the data. The perception with general appearance, color, arrangement and shape of anterior teeth, each had 5-point scale with the value ranging from “ not good at all to very good. A summative index of the four questions with score ranging from 4 “lowest” to 20 “highest” was taken. This was dichotomized into a binary variable using midvalue (median) 12 as a cut-off point yielding 1 = “poor” (summative index 4 – 12) and 2 “good” (summative index 13 – 20). Results and discussion: Males constituted 52% of the study participants. Total of 60% had positive perception on dental appearance, 48.8% present tooth colour dissatisfaction. Around 43% had at least one impact; the most impacted performance was eating (24.5%). Conclusion: A high proportion of adolescents had positive perception and were satisfied with the appearance and colour of their front teeth.
Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of self-perceived halitosis (SPH), its effects and associated factors among students of higher learning institutions in Kigali, Rwanda. Materials and methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed to 354 students. Data was entered into excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Chi-square test was performed and p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Out of 354 questionnaires distributed, only 329 were completely filled and used for analysis of which 48.6% were filled by females. The prevalence of perceived bad breath was 23.1%, and was similar in both sexes. About 23% reported that breath had interfered with their social life at school during the month of the study, while 13.1% and 19.7% respectively reported to have lost their friends at school and avoided other people from feeling that they had bad breath. Respondents who reported to have cavities in their teeth; gum bleeding; white or yellow deposits on their tongue; and dry mouth were more likely to report perceived bad breath than their counterparts (x 2 -= 18.21, p< 0.001; x 2 -= 28.03, p< 0.001; x 2 -= 28.19, p< 0.001, x 2 -= 4.55, p< 0.033 respectively). The oral habits that were associated with perceived bad breath were “ not brushing teeth every day ” (x 2 -= 5.51, p= 0.019); “ tobacco smoking ” (x 2 = 31.91, p= 0.001); “ drinking alcohol regularly ” (x 2 = 7.73, p= 0.005); and “using chewing gum every day” (x 2 = 28.03, p< 0.001). Conclusion: A substantial proportion of students in institutions of high learning in Rwanda reported to have bad breath. Tooth cavities, gum bleeding, white or yellow deposits on tongue, infrequent tooth brushing; tobacco smoking and regular alcohol consumption were significantly associated with perceived bad breath. Keywords: Self-perceived halitosis, associated factors, social life, Students
Aim: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with severe periodontal disease among diabetic patients. Design: Cross sectional study. Study subjects and methods: Diabetes mellitus patients visiting their regularly scheduled medical review at NCH Diabetic clinic participated in the study. Data collection was done using a pretested structured questionnaire and the oral examination was done according to the WHO 1987 Oral Health Surveys. Levels of fasting blood glucose were recorded. SPSS version 16 was used for data analysis, level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: 133 diabetic patients aged 20 to 80 years were enrolled in the study of whom 55.5% were females. A larger proportion of patients with higher education were more affected by bleeding (67.1%) than those with low education (47.9%), (χ 2 = 4.47, p=0.035). Proportionately more patients aged 55 years or older (47.4%) had deep pockets compared to 29.1% of those aged less than 55 years, the difference was statistically significant (p=0.040). More than half of the patients who reported brushing <2 times a day (51.9%) had deep pockets compared to 22.2% of those reporting to brush two or more times per day, (χ 2 = 11.78, p<0.001). Conclusion: Older patients and those reporting to brush less than twice per day had deep pockets. Keywords: Severe periodontal disease, diabetes mellitus, brushing, patients, Zambia
Orthodontic patients on fixed appliances are at an increased risk of developing white spot lesions which can progress to frank cavitations. Fluoride application in different forms has been shown to be effective in the reduction of formation of white spot lesions. The aim of this short communication is to discuss different methods that have been used in prevention of white spot lesions in orthodontic patients. Daily mouth rinse using 0.05% sodium fluoride is the most efficacious method in prevention of white spot lesions. It is thereby recommended for use in conjunction with proper maintenance of oral hygiene. Keywords: Demineralisation; Fluoride; Glass Ionomer; Compomer; Orthodontics
Objective: Tongue lesions are health concern to both oral health care providers and the general public. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of tongue disorders. Method: This was a retrospective study of the patients who presented at the Oral Medicine Clinic, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria, over a period of 3 years (January 2011 to December 2013). Patients’ records for the period of study were carefully reviewed and all cases of tongue disorders within the study period were selected based on clinical diagnosis. Further confirmation of some of the tongue lesions was done with laboratory and histopathology investigations. Results: A total of 813 patients were seen during the study period, among which tongue lesions were diagnosed in 84 (10.3%) of the subjects. Males accounted for 39.3% (33), while females accounted for 60.7% (n = 51). Recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU) (19.0%) and oral candidiasis (9.5%) accounted for most of the lesions affecting the tongue. RAU was highest in the third decade (n=6, 7.1%). Geographic tongue affected mostly patients below 30 years of age (n=6, 7.1%). Burning tongue was noticed more in patients over 70 years (n=3, 3.6%) while squamous cell carcinoma (3.6%) was observed in patients above 50 years of age. Conclusion: This study showed a 10.3% prevalence of tongue disorders. RAU and oral candidiasis were the commonest tongue disorders. Public health education regarding the diagnosis of these lesions is needed because in some cases early recognition of tongue lesions may provide useful diagnostic markers for some diseases. Keywords: Tongue, disorders, prevalence
Aims: To assess oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices among 12 years old pupils in Lunacy, Zambia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted involving 12 years old children from seven randomly selected urban and peri urban primary schools in Luanshya. A close ended self administered questionnaire adopted from Peterson and Stenberg was used to gather information pertaining to knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 and chi square test was used to test for differences in associations where significance was assumed when p≤0.05. Results: A total of 412 pupils with male to female ratio of 1.1:1.0 participated in this study. Majority (91.3%) had adequate knowledge on dental caries while 66.7% had adequate knowledge on periodontal diseases. Most of the participants (76.5%) knew plaque can be prevented by brushing and flossing. More than half of the participants (59.7%) knew causes of gum bleeding and majority (76.4) were aware that bleeding gums can be prevented by brushing and flossing. Only 10.9% were of the opinion that restoration is a better treatment of tooth ache compared to extraction. Majority (84.5%) agreed that regular dental visits are important, however only 10.0% of the participants reported to have visited their dentist regularly within the past one year. Only 11.4% brushed their teeth twice or more in a day and while (0.3%) reported to use dental floss as tooth cleaning gadget. Conclusion: Awareness on oral hygiene among participants in this study was generally adequate. Majority thought treatment of a tooth is as important as of any other organ in the body. Tooth extraction was reported as a better option than restoration. Oral health promotion programs are needed to improve oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices among pupils. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, Oral hygiene, 12 years old pupils, Zambia
Background: Cough linctuses are liquid oral medicines widely used in children to treat cough and related conditions. Some of their constituents are acidic and dental erosive. Objectives : This in vitro study aimed to evaluate the endogenous pH and titratable acidity of Nigerian cough syrups and also determine their erosive potentials. Methods : Twenty-five commonly used cough syrups were evaluated. The pH of each cough syrup was determined using a digital pH meter. Also, the buffering capability of each cough syrup was assessed by titrating 0.1N Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with 10mls of each sample until neutral pH of 7.0 was achieved for acidic syrups. For alkaline samples, 0.1N Hydrochloric acid (HCl) was titrated until the neutral pH of 7.0 was achieved. Results : The pH of the syrups ranged from 3.06 to 8.4. Twenty three (92%) of them were acidic (pH<7) while fifteen (60%) showed pH below the critical value of 5.5 which is a pH condition for enamel dissolution. Compared with the control (Coca-cola), all the samples showed comparable but slightly higher pH levels. The titratable acid values were between 0.1 and 4.1 mls. Eleven samples required at least 1.7mls of 0.1N sodium hydroxide to be neutralized. Only Deshalom – Cof needed more NaOH (4.1mls) to be neutralized compared with the control (3.1mls). Conclusion : Sixty percent of the sampled syrups were acidic with pH values below 5.5.
Background: Studies have shown that strong knowledge on oral health demonstrates better oral care practice and an association between increased knowledge and better oral health exists. Aim: To assess the influence of oral health knowledge and oral care practices to oral health status of secondary school students in Tanga, Tanzania. Subjects and Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to assess students’ oral health knowledge and oral care practices while oral health status was determined by a clinical examination. Bi-variate and logistic regression analyses were done and level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: 785 students participated in the study. Proportionately more students who reported to use charcoal, salt/or sand to clean their teeth (66.9%) were significantly more likely to be caries free compared to those who reported to use toothpaste (51.2%), (p= 0.001). Students who reported to brush their teeth after breakfast (57.5%) and/or having visited a dentist within the past 12 months (58.8%) were more likely to have one or more decayed teeth than their counterparts (45.2%), (p= 0.049) and (38.1%) (p= 0.0001) respectively. With the exception of using dental floss (p= 0.023), there were no statistical significant relationships between oral health knowledge, oral care practices with supra-gingival calculus accumulation. In logistic regression analysis students who reported to have visited a dentist during the past twelve months (OR= 2.32; 95% CI 1.728-3.115, p=0.0001), or used fluoridated tooth paste as an adjuvant while brushing their teeth (OR= 1.931; 95% CI 1.272-2.932, p= 0.002) were more likely to have at least one decayed tooth than their counterparts. Conclusion : Participants’ knowledge on oral health issues has no influence on oral health status, visiting a dentist is associated with presence of dental caries and participants’ who reported to use charcoal, salt and/or sand are more likely to have less caries than those using toothpaste.
