Associations between maternal mental health, child dental anxiety, and oral health of 6- to 12-year-olds in Nigeria

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.

Age-Related Pattern of Dental Trauma in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Abstract 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 <10 years were the least represented (14.7%), adolescents 10-19 years accounted for 23.9%., young adults 20 to 40 years were the most represented (44.8%) and older adults >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 (AU).

Social predictors of oral hygiene status in school children from suburban Nigeria

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.

Habit-breaking methods employed by mothers of children with nonnutritive sucking habits resident in suburban Nigeria

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.