BackgroundNausea and vomiting are common in early pregnancy in 50-90% of pregnant women and resolves in all but 10% of these women. Many obstetricians encounter this problem and should be familiar with the probable outcomes, current treatment options and oral health component of its management. This study assessed the awareness of obstetrics residents of the oral health component of management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.MethodsThis study was carried out among resident doctors in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Nigeria. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used for the data collection. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0. Non parametric analysis in the form of chi square was carried out to test for statistical significance with P value <0.05 considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 200 questionnaires were administered while 186 were filled and returned, giving a response rate of 93%, comprising 21.5% senior residents and 78.5% junior residents. Most of the respondents agreed that oral health is important in pregnancy. A majority (58%) also thought that oral health complaints in pregnancy were not normal. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents neither assessed teeth and gums of pregnant women for problems during ante-natal care nor educated them on care that would improve their oral health. Majority (95.7%) of the respondents assisted pregnant women with dealing with nausea and vomiting but were not aware of the oral health component of its management.ConclusionOral health component in the management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy has been largely neglected in obstetric care. It is pertinent that ante-natal health care providers receive adequate education on perinatal oral health care.

Introduction:In order to control serious pulpal pain following odontogenic infections in pregnant women, endodontic treatment may become necessary. The aim of this study was to assess the perception of dentists about rendering endodontic treatment to pregnant women.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional study of resident doctors in the different dental specialties in Nigeria preparing for the various levels of the fellowship examinations of the West Africa College of Surgeons and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. Data were collected by the means of a 17-itemed questionnaire which sought information on respondents' demography, their considerations while rendering endodontic treatment to the pregnant patients and their perceptions of the safety of endodontic treatment in pregnancy. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 21.0.Results:With regards to the safety of endodontic treatment during pregnancy, 91.8% considered it safe, and this was not statistically significant in relation to the specialty or status of the respondent. Majority (77.0%) agreed they would undertake a root canal treatment on a pregnant patient with all respondents in restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, periodontics, and pedodontics in the affirmative while all in oral pathology would refuse to do such (P = 0.0001).Conclusion:Dental residents are aware of the safety of endodontic treatment in pregnant women. However, gaps exist in their knowledge, bringing to the fore, the need for inclusion of pregnancy-specific training in the dental postgraduate curriculum.

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Background: The perceptions and experiences of dentists from different specialties on the use of dental implant and its applications can be instrumental in its use exhaustively. Objectives: To determine the opinions and experiences of a population of Nigerian dentists towards dental implant. Methods: Data for the study were collated using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the familiarity of the participants with various implant systems, their designs, sizes and loading as well as the provision of replacement for missing teeth. Result: The estimated functional life of an implant was reported to be less than 5 years by 2.5% of the respondents; 5 to 10 years by 11.3% of the respondents; 10 to 20 years by 26.3% and more than 20 years by 28.7% of the respondents while 31.3% had no idea about the estimated functional life of an implant. Exposure and experience with dental implants were low as only 30.0% of the respondents had attended any dental implant course/training with 95.0% of the respondents expressing the opinion that they did not have enough training in dental implantology. Conclusion: The exposure and experience with dental implants was low among the respondents. Keywords: Dental implant; Dentist; Knowledge.

Aim: To describe the external and internal root anatomy of maxillary first and second premolars in a Nigerian population using decalcification, clearing and staining technique. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six maxillary first premolars and one hundred and sixteen maxillary second premolars from 212 consenting adults indicated for extraction were studied. They were then decalcified, cleared and stained in vitro. The number of roots, tooth length, direction of root curvature, number of canals, canal configuration and number of apical foramina were noted. Results: The maxillary first premolars were mostly two rooted (70.8%) while maxillary second premolars predominantly had one root (82.8%) (p=0.001) and two canals. The mean tooth length for the maxillary first (21.87mm) and second (21.56mm) premolars was determined. There was no statistically significant difference between tooth length and gender in the teeth studied. The majority of single rooted teeth studied were curved distally, with more variable canal configurations than two rooted specimens. Overall, type IV configuration was the most prevalent in both maxillary first (81.2%) and second premolars (58.6%). Lateral canals were present in 29.2% of maxillary first and in 34.4% of second premolars studied. Inter- canal communications were observed in 20.8% of maxillary first premolars and 6.8% of maxillary second premolars. Root canals exited with multiple foramina in both maxillary first (83.3%) and second (62.1%) premolars. Conclusion: Maxillary first premolars were mostly two rooted while maxillary second premolars predominantly had a single root in the studied population. Also, the majority of the teeth studied had two canals and type IV canal configuration.  Anatomic variations in these teeth should be borne in mind when carrying out endodontic treatment.  Keywords: Maxillary premolars, root canal, morphology, Nigerian