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Programme guidelines for promoting good oral health for children in Nigeria: a position paper.
- Source :
-
BMC oral health [BMC Oral Health] 2014 Oct 21; Vol. 14, pp. 128. Date of Electronic Publication: 2014 Oct 21. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- Background: The objective of this paper is to draw attention to the oral health needs of children in Nigeria, and promote the use of appropriate interventions for disease prevention in the population. It also evaluates the value of the ongoing twice-daily tooth brushing campaign, which focuses on promoting good periodontal health and its relevance for children in Nigeria.<br />Discussion: The main oral health burden for children in Nigeria is untreated dental caries, attributable to low utilization of oral health facilities. While there is a strong association between oral hygiene status and caries occurrence, no research had established an association between frequency of tooth brushing and caries in children in Nigeria. Prevalence of caries and gingivitis is low, despite the fact that a majority of children brush once a day and most of them have fair oral hygiene. Campaigns that promote twice daily brushing to prevent chronic periodontitis in children are not driven by evidences supporting the local epidemic, and therefore cannot be considered as efficient use of the limited resources available.<br />Summary: Existing evidences show that the main oral health need of children in Nigeria is the management of untreated caries. Promoting the treatment of caries should be the primary focus of oral health programmes for children in Nigeria, as this would reduce further risks of developing new carious lesions. Public health campaigns should focus efforts at creating demand for oral health care services, for both preventive and curative purposes.
- Subjects :
- Child
Chronic Periodontitis prevention & control
DMF Index
Dental Care for Children statistics & numerical data
Dental Caries prevention & control
Dental Caries therapy
Health Education, Dental
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Needs Assessment
Nigeria
Oral Hygiene
Periodontal Diseases prevention & control
Risk Factors
Toothbrushing methods
Health Policy
Health Promotion
Oral Health
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472-6831
- Volume :
- 14
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- BMC oral health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 25331086
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-14-128