Overview of Early Childhood Caries in Nigeria and Global Recommended Treatment Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood caries (ECC) is characterized by "the presence of one or more decayed (non-cavitated or cavitated lesions), missing (due to caries), or filled surfaces, in any primary tooth in a child 71 months of age or younger". There have been reports of increased incidence of caries in developing countries.A systematic analysis of the global burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors for 195 countries from 1990 to 2015 reported that almost 8% of children globally were affected by untreated ECC. As such, ECC was classified as one of the diseases of public health concern because it affects millions of infants and preschool children worldwide. This study aimed to review the prevalence and associated factors of early childhood caries in Nigeria and also provides current overview alongside globally recommended treatment guidelines. DATA SOURCE: PubMed database, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (to February 2022) was used for articles search on the guidelines and recommendations for the treatment of ECC. Guidelines and recommendations published by the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, International Association of Paediatric Dentistry and European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry from 2017-2020 were retrieved. The following keys used in the MeSH were 'early childhood caries among Nigerian children, 'caries in preschool Nigerian children' 'treatment guidelines', 'treatment policies'and 'treatment recommendations. STUDY SELECTION: A total of 105 (24 plus 81) articles were retrieved but 21(15 plus 6 articles) were selected after the removal of non-specific and duplicated articles. RESULTS: The prevalence of early childhood caries ranged from 4.3-23.5% in Nigeria while the treatment guidelines and recommendations were case-specific. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of early childhood caries varies within the country's geo-political zones.

CONTEXTE: Les caries de la petite enfance (CPE) se caractérisent par "la présence d'une ou de plusieurs surfaces cariées (lésions non cavités ou cavités), manquantes (en raison de caries) ou obturées, sur une ou plusieurs dents primaires chez un enfant de 71 mois ou moins". Des rapports ont fait état d'une incidence accrue de caries dans les pays en développement. Une analyse systématique de la charge mondiale des maladies, des blessures et des facteurs de risque pour 195 pays de 1990 à 2015 a indiqué qu'environ 8 % des enfants dans le monde étaient touchés par des CPE non traitées. En tant que tel, les CPE ont été classées comme l'une des maladies préoccupantes pour la santé publique car elles touchent des millions de nourrissons et de jeunes enfants dans le monde. Cette étude visait à examiner la prévalence et les facteurs associés des caries de la petite enfance au Nigeria et à fournir une vue d'ensemble actuelle ainsi que des lignes directrices de traitement recommandées au niveau mondial. SOURCE DES DONNÉES: La base de données PubMed, le Registre Cochrane central des essais contrôlés et la base de données Cochrane des revues systématiques (jusqu'à février 2022) ont été utilisés pour la recherche d'articles sur les lignes directrices et recommandations pour le traitement des CPE. Les lignes directrices et recommandations publiées par l'American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, l'International Association of Paediatric Dentistry et l'European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry de 2017 à 2020 ont été récupérées. Les termes suivants ont été utilisés dans le MeSH : 'caries de la petite enfance chez les enfants nigérians', 'caries chez les enfants préscolaires nigérians', 'lignes directrices de traitement', 'politiques de traitement' et 'recommandations de traitement'. SÉLECTION DES ÉTUDES: Un total de 105 (24 plus 81) articles ont été récupérés, mais 21 (15 plus 6 articles) ont été sélectionnés après la suppression des articles non spécifiques et en double. RÉSULTATS: La prévalence des caries de la petite enfance variait de 4,3 % à 23,5 % au Nigeria, tandis que les lignes directrices et recommandations de traitement étaient spécifiques à chaque cas. CONCLUSION: La prévalence des caries de la petite enfance variait au sein des zones géopolitiques du pays. Mots-clés: Caries de la petite enfance, CPE, Lignes directrices de traitement.

Barriers and solutions to effective mentorship in health research and training institutions in Nigeria: Mentors, mentees, and organizational perspectives.

Aims and Background: Mentoring relationships and programs have become a subject of global interest and their relevance is high in the ever-evolving health system. In Nigeria, informal system of mentoring is largely practiced. To be able to institutionalize mentoring program, there is need to explore the various challenges of mentoring process and suggest potential approaches for effective mentor-mentee relationship in health research institutions in Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: The study was designed to explore the barriers and solutions to mentoring process from the perspectives of the mentor, mentee, and organization in health research and training institutions in Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed and the study was conducted among 21 health researchers drawn from 24 health research institutions across the 6 regions of Nigeria. The nominal group technique was adopted in the data collection process. Results: The most frequently reported mentor challenges were "lack of understanding of mentorship process" (84.2%) and "lack of capacity for mentoring" (78.9%), while those of mentee were "mentor preference" (73.7%) and "lack of freedom of expression" (47.4%). "Culture of selfishness/individualism" (84.2%) and "lack of formal relationship" (63.2%) were the most mentioned systemic challenges. Training on mentoring process and relationship was mentioned as the most frequent approach to overcoming challenges for the three perspectives. Conclusion: Significant mentorship challenges exist in the Nigerian health, academic and research institution. Systematic approaches to finding and implementing the appropriate solutions are needed to circumvent these bottlenecks.