Summary Objectives: Immunization coverage and anthropometry of a community constitute a good index for measuring child-health status for that community. We therefore, Studied the anthropometry, and the coverage of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) vaccines in randomly selected rural communities of Sokoto State. Design: Cross-sectional randomized study. Method: One hundred and fifteen mothers of children present at the randomly chosen :sites on the days of the study were interviewed using pre-tested questionnaires. Information on the immunization status was based on parental recall, and this was mostly confirmed by a review of individual immunization cards, while nutritional assessment was based on weight-for-age data. Results: The 115 children (56 males, 59 females) were aged less than six years (mean age, 4.71 + 1.24 years). Fully, partially, and not immunized proportions of the 115 were seven percent, 73.9 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively. Male immunization rate was significantly higher than the female (P<0.05). 62.5 percent, 85.9 percent and 86.4 percent respectively, of fully, partially, and non immunized children were malnourished. The immunization coverage for all the vaccines was low compared to the national and other published data. All the mothers were full-time housewives with only 3.5 percent having elementary/Koranic education while 96.5 percent had no formal education. All the 22 children that had not received any immunization were offsprings of mothers with no formal education. Conclusion: "The study showed that the paediatric preventive services as represented by the immunization coverage and nutritional status in these communities, are poor. Therefore, in order to achieve health for all in these communities, there is a need to further evaluate the possible causes and machineries to tackle them.

Objective: This study was aimed at assessing the cross infection control practices among dental health care practitioners in Nigeria.Method: Questionnaires were administered to 137 Dentists, 56 Dental Therapists and 62 Dental Surgery Assistants (DSAs) practicing in both government and private practices across the six geopolitical areas of the country. Each questionnaire comprised of questions on basic infection control procedures.Result: Results indicate that all the participants use gloves during treatment, 93.8% wear face mask, 48.5% wear eye protection, 95.5% clinical gown/coat. Furthermore 27.3% have had a puncture or laceration from a dental needle or instrument while only 41.4% have had Hepatitis B vaccination.Conclusion: Infection control practice by dental personnel in Nigeria has improved compared to previous studies, particularly in the use of gloves. However in the areas of sterilization, vaccination, there are needs for improvement.

Objective: To determine the relevance of exclusive breast-feeding practice, in the development of healthy oral tissue among teething infants. Method: A cross sectional study design of children aged 6-36 months was carried out in 14 wards of Jos North Local Government Area. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 1081 mothers who qualified and were interviewed using structured interviewer questionnaire on their knowledge and perception on common complaints during teething in children. The index children were examined for number and type of teeth erupted using mouth mirror under natural light. Result: One thousand and eighty-one mothers and their babies were interviewed and examined; out these 16.5%, 38.7% and 44.8% babies were of age groups 6-12, 13-24 and 25-36 months respectively; 50.2% were female and 49.8% were male. Of the babies examined 62.4% were exclusively breast-fed. There was a significant association between maternal educational status and knowledge of teething complaints. Three hundred and twenty-six (30.1%) babies had cough during their teething period, 349 (32.3%) experienced drooling of saliva, and 352 (32.6%) were observed to bite objects during teething. The high percentage of babies that were exclusively breast-fed but did not experience these symptoms were found to be statistically significant (p = 0.00). Seven hundred and forty-two (68.6%) babies had diarrhoea during teething; out of these 459(42.5%) were exclusively breast-fed and it was however not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.55). Conclusion: This study draws attention to the relatively poor anecdotal evidence related to symptoms associated with the teething process. The result has also demonstrated that exclusive breast-feeding is not only able to reduce the symptoms ascribed to teething, but also promote the development of a healthy oral tissue.

SUMMARY INTRODUCTION:Poor oral hygiene, measles and malnutrition have been implicated as predisposing factors to Acute Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis (ANUG) and cancrum oris, common oral diseases prevalent among children ages 3-6 years in rural communities.OBJECTIVE:The study was aimed at reviewing the oral hygiene, nutritional and immunization status of children 13-84 months of age in a rural community.DESIGN:A cross sectional study.METHODS:Two hundred and thirty seven (237), 168 and 321 children and their parents from Illela, Gada and Gwadabawa respectively were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire to record the biodata and social status of the mother and measles immunization status of the children. The oral hygiene status of the children was determined using the plaque/debris index score. Their anthropometric measurements were also recorded.RESULTS:A total of 636 children aged 1-7years were examined. Of these, 8.3% had plaque/debris index of zero. About twenty four percent (23.9%) had plaque/debris index of 1, while 55.2% had plaque/debris index of 2 and 12.6% had plaque/debris index of 3. There was no statistical difference between the females and the males (p=0.333), but a significant difference existed between the age groups (p=0.001). Of the study group, 84.3% were malnourished and only 11.3% were immunized against measles.CONCLUSION:Poor oral hygiene, malnutrition and low measles immunization were common in the community. These conditions predispose to noma. Prompt and adequate intervention programmes such as systematic oral health, immunization and nutrition promotion programmes are urgently needed in these communities.

Objective: To determine the effect of tooth morphology and positioning on the occurrence of dental caries in permanent teeth. Design: Retrospective study. Method: Data was extracted from the case notes of patients that underwent extraction at the Plateau State Dental Centre, Jos, Nigeria from January 2000 to December 2001, as a result of dental caries and its sequalae. Result: 12696 patients attended the clinic, with a total of 11546-teeth extracted. 6145 (53.2%) permanent teeth were extracted due to caries and it's sequalae within the period under review. The upper anteriors accounted for 3.2%, pre-molars 7.7% and molars 29.8% while lower anteriors accounted for 0.4%, pre-molars 3.3% and molars 55.6%. The upper anteriors were eight times more vulnerable to caries attack compared to their corresponding lower anteriors. The upper right (43.3%) and left (36.9%) first premolars were four times prone to losses due to caries compared to their corresponding lower right (11.5%) and left (8.3%) first premolars. Similar pattern was observed for the upper and lower second premolar (P = 0.001). The lower right (31.3%) and left (31.3%) first molar were about two times more susceptible to caries than their corresponding upper right (18.2%) and left (19.2%) first molar. The same trend holds for the second and third molars (P = 0.000). Conclusion: The result of this study revealed that the upper premolars were more susceptible to dental caries than the corresponding lower teeth. The study also revealed that the molars were most susceptible to dental caries and would benefit from the use of prophylactic pits and fissure sealants. Key Words: Tooth morphology; extraction; fissure sealant; caries African Journal of Oral Health Vol.1(1) 2004: 31-36