First Dental Visits among Children in Ibadan South-West, Nigeria: Age and Reasons
Mary E Osuh, Olanrewaju I Opeodu, Jackson I Osuh, Tosan O Temisanren, Olubukola E Oduntan, Cyril Oyemina, Toluwanimi S Fatokun, Sarah A Nwosu, Folawemimo T Akintunde, Oluwayanmife T Jeje, Temiloluwa I Gbademu, Samuel T Tundealao
Citation Information :
Osuh ME, Opeodu OI, Osuh JI, Temisanren TO, Oduntan OE, Oyemina C, Fatokun TS, Nwosu SA, Akintunde FT, Jeje OT, Gbademu TI, Tundealao ST. First Dental Visits among Children in Ibadan South-West, Nigeria: Age and Reasons. J Oral Health Comm Dent 2024; 18 (2):53-59.
Aim: It is recommended that a child should have their first appointment with a dentist by their first birthday. An early first-time appointment with the dentist offers many prospects, which include timely preventive care and education on the child's oral health. This study aimed to determine the average age in years at which a first dental clinic visit is made and the reasons among children aged 16 years and below attending a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Materials and methods: This was a retrospective review of clinical records of 531 children who attended the Child Oral Health Clinic at Dental Centre, University College Hospital (UCH) for the first time between November 2021 and December 2022. Data on age at a first dental visit, reasons for attending, family structure, birth order, and primary caregiver were collected. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and logistics regression analysis were conducted.
Results: Most patients had their first dental visit at 7–9 years of age (30.3%), followed by 10–12 years (23.9%), and only 1.5% visited the dentist by their first birthday. The commonest reason for the first visit were malocclusion/oral habits (37.7%), dental pain (17.3%), dental trauma, and infection (9.4% respectively). Factors associated with presenting at older ages included attendance at public school (p = 0.005), being from a polygamous family (p = 0.012), increased number of children in the family p = 0.004), having non-parent family members as primary caregiver p = 0.004).
Conclusion: Many Nigerian children do not have their first dental appointment until much later in life, despite the recommendation that it should occur by age 1.
Clinical significance: Our study findings aim to culminate in the development and implementation of a robust, comprehensive intervention with the ultimate objective of establishing a cohesive and coordinated strategy that ensures that Nigerian children living in Ibadan get their first dental checkup by the first year of life.
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