Background: Dental anxiety is a major issue with respect to provisions of and access to dental care. We evaluated the knowledge and management of anxiety among Nigerian dentists. Materials and Methods: The study population included 192 Nigerian dentists recruited during an annual national dental conference in Abuja. The conference was a meeting point for dentists with post graduation experience ranging between 1 and 32 years and from different part of the country. They completed a structured questionnaire on dental anxiolysis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 16. Results: Of the interviewed dentists, 122 (55.1%) practiced in teaching hospitals and 24% had their specialization in child dental health. A total of 34 (19.8%) dentists had been exposed to formal trainings on the practice of dental anxiolysis. Of this number, 66% had basic life support training and only 11.8% had refresher training programs. The most preferred route of administration of anxiolytic drugs was oral (57.3%). Most of the respondents were of the view that dental anxiolysis should not be instituted for all dental patients. Conclusion: The interviewed Nigerian dentists were knowledgeable and managed dental anxiety. Although some of them had no formal training on dental anxiolysis, the major consensus is that dental anxiolysis should not be instituted for all dental patients.

BACKGROUND:The central third of the face is distorted by the bilateral cleft of the lip and palate and restoring the normal facial form is one of the primary goals for the reconstructive surgeons. The history of bilateral cleft lip repair has evolved from discarding the premaxilla and prolabium and approximating the lateral lip elements to a definitive lip and primary cleft nasal repair utilising the underlying musculature. The aim of this study was to review surgical outcome of bilateral cleft lip surgery (BCLS) done at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A review of all cases of BCLS done between January 2007 and December 2012 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital was done. Data analysis included age and sex of patients, type of cleft deformity and type of surgery (primary or secondary) and whether the cleft deformity was syndromic and non-syndromic. Techniques of repair, surgical outcome and complications were also recorded.RESULTS:A total of 39 cases of BCLS involving 21 males and 18 females were done during the period. This constituted 10% (39/390) of all cases of cleft surgery done during the period. There were 5 syndromic and 34 non-syndromic cases. Age of patients at time of surgery ranged between 3 months and 32 years. There were 24 bilateral cleft lip and palate deformities and 15 bilateral cleft lip deformities. Thirty-one of the cases were primary surgery, while 8 were secondary (revision) surgery. The most common surgical technique employed was modified Fork flap (Millard) technique, which was employed in 37 (95%) cases.CONCLUSION:Bilateral cleft lip deformity is a common cleft deformity seen in clinical practice, surgical repair of which can be a challenge to an experienced surgeon. A modified Fork flap technique for repair of bilateral cleft lip is a reliable and versatile technique associated with excellent surgical outcome.

Ameloblastic carcinoma (AC) produces extensive local destruction, perforation of the cortical plate, extension into surrounding soft tissues, numerous recurrent lesions, and metastasis, usually to cervical lymph nodes. Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma (CCOC) which was previously designated clear cell odontogenic tumor also exhibits an aggressive biologic behavior and a tendency to metastasize to distant locations. Both lesions are rare. We report an odontogenic carcinoma with a dual histomorphologic feature of CCOC and AC coexisting in a single lesion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind in the literature.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and pattern of presentation of mandibular and palatal tori in a Nigerian population. Method: A prospective observational study of mandibular and palatal tori among adolescents and adults subjects, attending the Oral and Maxillofacial Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, from January to December 2008 was conducted. Patients were examined by visual inspection and digital palpation for the presence of torus palatinus and torus mandibularis. Result: A total of 1004 subjects (424 males, 580females) were examined during the period of the study. The subjects were aged 15-90 years, (mean 32.7 ± 13.5 years). The prevalence of mandibular and/or palatal tori was 13.6% (136 of 1004). Of the 136 subjects, 24 had both mandibular and palatal tori, 48 had palatal tori only and 64 had mandibular tori only. Both the mandibular and palatine tori were commonly seen in female subjects. The most common location was the lingual surface of the mandible around canine-premolar region. The prevalence of mandibular torus was 8.8% and that of palatal torus was 7.2%. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of mandibular tori in both sexes (P=0.48), whereas palatal tori were significantly commoner in females than males (P=0.00). Tori were commonly seen in the 3rd and 4th decades of life and were asymptomatic in 97% of subjects examined. Conclusion: The prevalence of tori in this study was higher than previously reported in Nigeria. Fourteen percent of those examined in the present study were found to have mandibular and/or palatal tori. Tori located on the lingual surface of the mandible around canine-premolar region were the most commonly seen tori in agreement with the previous study from Nigeria.