BackgroundThe rate of total edentulism is said to be increasing in developing countries and this had been attributed mainly to the high prevalence of periodontal diseases and caries. Several reports have shown that non-disease factors such as attitude, behavior, dental attendance, characteristics of health care systems and socio-demographic factors play important roles in the aetiopathogenesis of edentulism. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between socio-demographic factors and edentulism.MethodsA total of 152 patients made up of 80 (52.6%) males and 72 (47.4%) females who presented in two prosthetic clinics located in an urban and a rural area were included in the study. The relationship between gender, age, socio-economic status and edentulism in this study population was established.ResultsNo significant relationship between gender and denture demand was noted in the study. The demand for complete dentures increased with age while the demand for removable partial dentures also increased with age until the 3rd decade and then started to decline. A significant relationship was found between denture demand and the level of education with a higher demand in lower educational groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the lower socio-economic group had a higher demand more for prostheses than the higher group.ConclusionsThe findings in this study revealed a significant relationship between socio-demographic variables and edentulism with age, educational level and socio-economic status playing vital roles in edentulism and denture demand.

BackgroundThe accuracy of radiographic methods for dental age estimation is important for biological growth research and forensic applications. Accuracy of the two most commonly used systems (Demirjian and Willems) has been evaluated with conflicting results. This study investigates the accuracies of these methods for dental age estimation in different populations.MethodsA search of PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, Database of Open Access Journals and Google Scholar was undertaken. Eligible studies published before December 28, 2016 were reviewed and analyzed. Meta-analysis was performed on 28 published articles using the Demirjian and/or Willems methods to estimate chronological age in 14,109 children (6,581 males, 7,528 females) age 3–18 years in studies using Demirjian’s method and 10,832 children (5,176 males, 5,656 females) age 4–18 years in studies using Willems’ method. The weighted mean difference at 95% confidence interval was used to assess accuracies of the two methods in predicting the chronological age.ResultsThe Demirjian method significantly overestimated chronological age (p<0.05) in males age 3–15 and females age 4–16 when studies were pooled by age cohorts and sex. The majority of studies using Willems’ method did not report significant overestimation of ages in either sex. Overall, Demirjian’s method significantly overestimated chronological age compared to the Willems method (p<0.05). The weighted mean difference for the Demirjian method was 0.62 for males and 0.72 for females, while that of the Willems method was 0.26 for males and 0.29 for females.ConclusionThe Willems method provides more accurate estimation of chronological age in different populations, while Demirjian’s method has a broad application in terms of determining maturity scores. However, accuracy of Demirjian age estimations is confounded by population variation when converting maturity scores to dental ages. For highest accuracy of age estimation, population-specific standards, rather than a universal standard or methods developed on other populations, need to be employed.

Aim There is limited scientific information on the relationship between tooth shade, age, gender, and skin color in black Africans. This lack of knowledge may impact the ability of the prosthodontist to select artificial teeth for completely edentulous patients. This study explores the possibility of a relationship between tooth shade, gender, age, and skin color in a black African population. Methods and Materials A total of 212 individuals aged 15 to 79 years participated in this study. One investigator, calibrated for examining tooth shade, performed all examinations. A Vita-Lumin shade guide was used to examine either the maxillary right or left central incisor. One had to be sound for inclusion in the study. Tooth shades were divided into two categories according to value, and skin tones were divided into two categories (light, and dark). Chi-square analysis and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the data (P< 05). Results No statistically significant difference was found between tooth shade and skin color and the subjects’ perception of their tooth shade. However, a statistically significant difference was found between age and tooth shade (P<.001). There was also a statistically significant difference in tooth shade between men and women. Conclusion Within the limitations of this study, tooth shade value and skin color were not related. However, older adults and men are more likely to have darker teeth. Citation Esan TA, Olusile AO, Akeredolu PA. Factors Influencing Tooth Shade Selection for Completely Edentulous Patients. J Contemp Dent Pract 2006 November;(7)5:080-087.

Despite the increase in the consumption of westernised diets by Nigerian children coupled with limited access to dental care, the prevalence was low but the clinical consequences of untreated dental caries was still high.