DELAYED DENTAL CONSULTATION               

The dental office is usually a nice looking space with a beautiful long dental chair on which patients lie comfortably for examination and possible treatment, there are often enough illumination which brightens up the space, decorations and mirrors which often attract the child patients.

However, despite this nice appearance of the office, it is often dreaded by people of all calibers hence not many patients present for routine dental check up or active dental treatment by patients who truely need it.

Rather, patients present at the time when the worse has happened to the teeth and its surroundings.

          Imagine a tooth with pain for a period of 6 years!

   

This patient chose to present today because pain disturbed sleep, then ran to the dentist for help.

Note that the kind of help/ treatment that will be rendered will depend on the severity of the case which is dependent on the duration of the happenings to the tooth. Early presentation of dental problems makes treatment easy for the patient and the dentist. It is also cheaper to treat cases early before it get advanced necesitating advanced treatment in terms of cost and technicalities

DENTISTRY: A COURSE OF STUDY AT THE HIGHER INSTITUTION

 

The thought of the course to study at the university never crossed my mind until my final year in secondary school. I simply filled in medicine in my jamb form as I knew next to nothing about the next level of my life post secondary school education.

I was only moving to the next stage; all I knew a science student could study was medicine and the jamb brochure identified it as medicine and surgery.

My success in the jamb examination determined my fate.

I was offered dentistry by my school of first choice because I scored short of the required for medicine, and dentistry was considered the sister course. Hmm, dentistry! I wondered what it was as it was new to my hearing besides i didn’t know what any course entailed at the time, other than the fact that anyone who studied medicine would be a doctor.

The only understanding that I had was that the doctor gave the injection, as I encountered that several times.

I accepted to study dentistry as I had no choice. Unknown to me, my father had made enquiries from his dentist who fabricated a removable partial denture to replace his missing upper centrals. He received encouraging information on dentistry as a good choice of course to study at the University and he reassured my daddy of goodness after my graduation.

My older sister also made findings from her friends who were twins, one of them was studying medicine and the other was in dentistry, they were in their second year when I was in my first year. The information she received was not different from what my dad got but neither of them disclosed this to me until later that I got to know.

To the glory of God, I graduated after 7 years of training to earn a ‘Bachelor of Dental Surgery’

It’s been 20 years of practice of dentistry in Nigeria and I am proud of what I have become in my career and family life.

It has given me enough and I am living a fulfilled life despite the odds in my country Nigeria.

To anyone who wishes to study dentistry, feel free to join the train, you will definitely enjoy it. Parents should also encourage their children to study dentistry as opportunities are numerous.

Dental degree: not a limiting factor in your career and life successes

The success stories of Nigerian dentists abound. Let us explore a few of them

Professor Joel Akinosi, rose to a great height from BDS Nigeria to the invention of a dental injection technique for tooth extraction and retired as a Maxillofacial surgeon of repute. The nonagenarian is alive in good health.

Professor Ogunbodede a community dentist, researcher of repute and excellent administrator

recently completed his tenure as the number one staff (Vice Chancellor) of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife  in Osun state.

Professor Onatolu, Odukoya a renowned dentist, academician per excellence and clinician of repute. From BDS Lagos Nigeria through Harvard University to the number one (Chief Medical Director) person that directed the affairs of the foremost health facility in Nigeria; Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) from 1999-2007 and retired in 2020 in the Department of Oral Biology and Oral Pathology LUTH. He is alive and well

Professor Adeyemo Wasiu Lanre is a dentist and specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He is the current Chief Medical Director of the popular Lagos University Teaching Hospital, a tertiary health centre in Nigeria that is a force to reckon with in health care delivery in Nigeria. The Nigerian Senate committee recently commended his leadership on hospital resource management.

Dr Tahjudeen Adisa B. Sanusi, a dentist recently concluded his 5-year tenure as the registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). The body that regulates the practice of Medicine, Dentistry and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria. He performed brilliantly well to handover to the current registrar.

Professor Abdulazeez Butali, a dentist has performed a lot of wonders with his BDS Lagos degree to become an international researcher who resides in the US. He has won several grants in the area of genomics and is still active in the business of dental research

Dr Folashade Yemi Esan a University of Ibadan-trained dentist is the current head of civil service in Nigeria with outstanding performance in her line of duties.

There are many more successful dentists in Nigeria, and too numerous to mention. Many of them operate the best dental care facilities like SCHUBBS Dental Clinic with many branches in Lagos owned by Dr Bode Karunwi and the age long dental care facility of Mrs Angela Patricia Giwa Osagie also located in Lagos Nigeria.

The majority of Nigerian dentists are professors and Drs. in Nigerian dental schools.

In essence, Dentistry as a career path is a good one with an abundance of opportunities, it does not limit anyone to be whom and what one wishes to be, and rather it can propel one to a great height.

NON-HEALING ORAL ULCER : MAY BE AN EARLY SIGN OF ORAL CANCER

Oral Ulcer is a breach in the oral mucous lining. Commonly called mouth sore.

Presentations of oral ulcers: This varies with causes, size, number, location, duration, and time of healing. It may appear as a pinhead sized lesion and multiple; referred to as herpetiform ulcers. 

2 to 6 in number of a 2 mm sized ulceration in any part of the mouth; called minor aphthous ulcer. While a single solitary or occasionally 2 large sized ulcer on the tongue, palate or gingiva called major aphthous ulcer. This appears raised with a rolled edge and yellow flow.

Causes of oral ulcers: Oral ulcer can be caused by a wide range of causes, which includes:

1. Nutritional deficiency

2. Stress- academic/physical exertion/emotional

3. Trauma-from teeth or foreign objects

4. Immunological reaction

5. Hormone mediated-menstruation/

5. Familiar tendencies

6. Systemic disease

7. Early cancer

Treatment:

This is based on the cause of the oral ulcer, as removal of causes allows for regression of the sore.

Warm water salt solution mouth rinse 6-8 times daily will heal herpetiform and minor apthous ulcer.

Vitamin C tablets 100 mg, 3 times daily will go a long way to promote healing

For large sized lesions that is not healing within 2 weeks, present to a dentist for assessment and management.

WARNING:

Late presentation of sinister cases can be fatal in case it is a cancer because oral cancer can begin as an ulceration, and early treatment can be lifesaving.

The picture shown below is a case of oral cancer, which started as a small ulceration. It did not heal for weeks and patient did not present to the hospital.

Patient eventually presented when condition was worse after 8 months, then the cancer had destroyed the upper jawbone and floor of the eye. He needs advanced treatment than he would have received if he had presented earlier. 

ORAL CANCER

                                                    A stitch in time saves nine!!!

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Beautiful pic!

HOW YOUR TEETH CAN SECURE YOU A JOB

 

 

Here are tips towards a smile that gets you noticed for employment.

1. Daily brushing after breakfast and the last thing at bed time.

2. Use dental floss for interdental cleaning after meal/mouth rinsing.

3. Fix your fractured or discoloured anterior tooth/teeth for an improved outlook.

4. Whiten your teeth with bleaching if they are discoloured.

5. Fix the haphazard arrangement of your teeth with orthodontics treatment.

AT THE INTERVIEW

Flash your radiant smile to all and respond with confidence. This is sure to earn you the job. For help on this matter, contact dental news.

Do not attend a job interview with the following funny looking teeth:

 

 

 

ORAL CANDIDIASIS

The oral cavity (mouth) forms normal habitat to a number of organisms; bacteria and fungi. They are considered normal oral commensals that cause no harm in the mouth as they are kept in check by the body immune system. In case of a suppressed immunity, these organisms may begin to cause harm as seen in candidiasis.

Candidiasis/Oral thrush is a fungal infection of the mouth and it’s environ, throat inclusive. It is caused by overgrowth of the fungi commonly candida albicans in the mouth in immunocompromised states as seen in:

1.      Diabetes Mellitus: In this condition, sugar in saliva acts as food for fungal growth.

2.       Prolonged/high dose antibiotic treatment: This condition kills the normal oral bacteria that keeps fungal growth in the oral cavity in check

3.      HIV infection

4.      Renal failure

5.      Use of immune suppressant drugs

6.      Long term steroid treatment

7.      Other forms of immune suppression states

8.      Neonates and elderly

9.      Ill-fitting dentures

10.  Xerostomia i.e. dry mouth

Candidiasis affects all age groups depending on the immune status.

The very young neonates acquire oral thrush during passage through the birth canal in mothers with vaginal candidiasis due to immaturity of the immune response. This clears within 2 weeks however if it persists, baby needs a pediatrician assessment.

Oral presentation of candidiasis

Whitish coat on any part of the mouth, tongue and throat inclusive.

 It may also present as soft, friable, and creamy coloured plaques on the oral mucosa.

This creamish /whitish plague can be easily wiped off, to expose an erythematous /reddish mucosa.

 

whitish plagues on surfaces of the mouth

coated tongue with whitish plagues

If you notice any stange and persistent coating of your mouth,consult a dentist for evaluation and treatment.