In many communities of South Africa, traditional healers are often the only means of health care delivery available. The level of knowledge and ability to recognize oral lesions of 32 traditional healers and 17 care-givers were assessed after a two-day workshop. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire, complimented by enlarged clinical photographs of the common oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS. Prior to the workshop, 46 (93.9%) of the 49 respondents had never had any formal information on oral health and 43 (87.8%) were unfamiliar with the symptoms of oral diseases. Thirty-five (71.4%) recognized bleeding gums from A4-size photographs and 11 (22.4%) recognized oral thrush. The recognition of other oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS were; oral hairy leukoplakia (41.0%), angular cheilitis (43.6%), herpes virus infection (56.4%), oral ulcerations (56.8%), and in children, parotid enlargement (27.3%), and moluscum contagiosum (56.8%). Traditional healers and caregivers constitute an untapped resource with enormous potential. A positive bridge should be built to link traditional healing with modem medicine in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Background:Mandibular fractures are universal in distribution but its aetiologies and presentation patterns differ from one country to another because of varying socioeconomic, cultural and geographical factors. We analysed the aetiological factors and presentation patterns of mandibular fractures in a tertiary hospital at Nigeria's second largest city.
Methods:
Patients with isolated mandibular fractures at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano were prospectively reviewed over a 12-months period. Patients' demographic information and fracture characteristics (aetiology, site, pattern and number of fracture) were recorded and analysed.
Results:
One hundred and forty eight patients presented with 180 mandibular fractures. There were eight fold higher men with mandibular fractures than women (M: F = 8.3:1) with highest incidence in third decade of life. Road traffic accidents (84.46%) was the major aetiology while iatrogenic fracture (0.68%) was found in one patient. Mandibular body was the most fractured site (41.11%) with parasymphyseal and angle regions accounting for 27.78% and 23.89% of total recorded fractures respectively.
Conclusions:
Mandibular fractures in Kano, Northwest Nigeria occurred predominantly in men in the third decade and are mostly caused by road traffic accidents. The majority of these fractures involved the mandibular body.