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Previous studies indicate that the delivery of the compulsory community service (CS) programme was far from the intended objectives. It is plausible that the intended vision of the programme for the young graduates to“…develop skills, acquire knowledge, behaviour patterns and critical thinking that would help in their professional development and future careers.” may not be realizable. This study evaluated the extent to which CS programme nenabled CS dentists to develop clinical skills. A national cross-sectional study was undertaken on CS dentists. Adapted visual analogue scale (VAS) assessed the frequency of work performed and levels of skills or competency acquired. A total of 217/235 dentists participated, (response rate of 92.34%). The clinical work undertaken and skills/competence acquired were positively correlated; [Mean (SD)= 1.10 (0.326), 1.10 (0.359); r =0.945, p=<0.000, n = 217] respectively. This finding validates the associated loss of skills and competence because of lack of clinical exposure during CS. Specialised dental procedures were never or rarely performed during CS (89.5%). Similarly the level of skills acquired during CS was minimal. CS in its present form disrupts continuing education and the development of learning and clinical skills. These cohorts of dentists have entered independent practice less prepared; may fail to provide quality care to the public. The CS programme is regressive, and requires urgent review and reform.

Introduction The clinical, histological and radiographic presentation of ameloblastoma is well described in literature. This odontogenic tumour commonly affect the mandible, locally aggressive and destructive resulting in disfigurement. It arises from dental tissues at various phases of tooth development. They are generally asymptomatic, slow growing, locally invasive and rarely malignant with a high recurrence rate. Objective To test the hypotheses that ameloblastomas were predominant in the mandible. among black Africans, male and the young. Study Design Retrospective review of ameloblastoma cases spanned between 1991 and 2022. Methods Data analysis was based on 185 histologically confirmed cases. Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics were undertaken on, age, gender, clinical, radiographic and histological characteristics. Results The average age was 28.81 (14.53), ranging between 3-75 years. The overall male to female ratio stood at 1.18:1. Ameloblastomas were prevalent in the mandible 174(94.1%), diagnosed as conventional variant 155(83.7%) and acanthomatous subtype. Radiographically, the lesions appeared as multilocular 97(55.4%), radiolucent 100(54.1%) and expansile 129(67.7%). The average size of the lesions was 77.43 ± 33.83 mm, with a range of 184 mm. Conclusion Our results validate the hypothesis that ameloblastoma is highly prevalent among black Africans of younger age. The radiographic, clinical, and histological characteristics of ameloblastoma in our population are comparable to the vast literature.