Professor Eyitope O. Ogunbodede

Fifty nine patients with histologically confirmed cases of oral malignant neoplasia were included in this study. There was a male preponderance with the male to female ratio being 2.5 to 1.0. The average waiting period before presentation was 8.9 +/- 6.5 months (range: two to 24 months). Squamous cell carcinoma was the predominant variety, 50.8%, of all malignancies recorded. The alveolar ridge and the gingivae were the commonest sites accounting for 40.7% of all cases. Majority of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma, (80.8%), presented with stage IV of this disease. The pattern of oral malignancies in the population studied appears slightly different from earlier observations in Western Europe and Asia. The necessity to strengthen research on the epidemiology of the disease in Nigeria and other African countries is highlighted.

Fifty nine patients with histologically confirmed cases of oral malignant neoplasia were included in this study. There was a male preponderance with the male to female ratio being 2.5 to 1.0. The average waiting period before presentation was 8.9 +/- 6.5 months (range: two to 24 months). Squamous cell carcinoma was the predominant variety, 50.8%, of all malignancies recorded. The alveolar ridge and the gingivae were the commonest sites accounting for 40.7% of all cases. Majority of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma, (80.8%), presented with stage IV of this disease. The pattern of oral malignancies in the population studied appears slightly different from earlier observations in Western Europe and Asia. The necessity to strengthen research on the epidemiology of the disease in Nigeria and other African countries is highlighted.

A project for improving primary health care in an underserved rural area of Osun State, Nigeria, involved the creation of a partnership between the local government, the community and a medical college. Joint administrative and technical committees were established, and community mobilization was fostered. The evidence so far indicates that partnership designs can accelerate the development of primary health care in an affordable manner.

Sugar-based Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) is still the conventional treatment for diarrhoeal diseases. The WHO/UNICEF, and other groups endorse and actively promote its use for all cases of diarrhoea. Despite the deleterious effects of sugars promotion on dental health, and the incontrovertible role of sugars as the major factor responsible for the present upsurge in dental caries prevalence in the developing countries, the search for an ideal Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) has so far completely ignored any dental considerations. Of the presently available rehydration solutions, the cereal or food-based solutions offer greater advantages over the sugar based solutions. Further research efforts must be directed at non-sugar based ORT, and funding organisations should give support to researchers and research institutions working to replace sugars with cereal flours, improve food-based ORS, or develop novel approaches to ORT that are based on non-cariogenic ingredients. Policy makers, researchers and health care workers generally must always consider, in addition to other factors, the dental implications of their recommendations on ORT.

To determine the relationship between bacterial colonization of tooth surfaces and dental caries, selective agar media-MM10 Sucrose, Rogosa SL and Blood agar were used to isolate bacteria from the scrappings of 60 tooth surfaces of 30 children and young adults. Mean age +/- SD was 13.3 +/- 4.1 (range seven to 19 years). Streptococcus mutans was isolated from 36 surfaces representing 60pc Lactobacillus species from 38 surfaces (68pc), and Actinomyces species from 12 surfaces (20pc). The individual prevalences of these organisms decreased with age. The distribution of bacteria according to surfaces examined showed that the pits and fissures were the main habitat of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli were sensitive to erythromycin. Actinomyces species were 100pc sensitive to Penicillin. All the bacteria species isolated were also found to be 100pc sensitive to Olfoxacin (Tarivid). It is suggested that the use of antibiotics may stop the growth of cariogenic bacteria in individuals and thereby contribute to a decline in the incidence and prevalence of dental caries in the community.

The relationship between socio-economic factors and dental health in an Obstetric Nigerian population was studied. The mean gestational age (+/-standard deviation) was 30.16 + 5.45 weeks (range 16-40 weeks). Acquisition of dental education was found to be unrelated to level of education. When the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease were considered, the difference between the high, middle and low socio-economic groups were found to be significant (p < 0.05).

The response of hard and soft oral tissues to prolonged uninterrupted wearing of a removable partial prosthesis in a Nigerian patient is discussed. To our knowledge only one case has been reported in the literature. In this case additional mucosal changes to the reported caries-free pattern is discussed.

Nigeria like other developing countries is presently faced with the arduous problem of coping with scarce resources to control existing and increasing oral disease levels. The World Health Organization has emphasized the importance of oral health promotion for initiating successful, effective, preventive oral health programmes. At present however, Nigeria is without formal oral health promotion and health education policies or programmes. In the "National Policy and Strategy to Achieve Health for All Nigerians" (Federal Ministry of Health 1986), no specific mention was made of oral health promotion or oral health education. The present paper therefore proposes definitive policy guidelines that will help in the development of coherent oral health promotion programmes for the country. The approach proposed tackles causes common to a number of chronic diseases and incorporates oral health into general health strategies.