Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is defined as the presence of caries lesion in an primary tooth in children below the age of 71 months. It is a significant public health problem with consequences for the growth and development of affected children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and ECC risk indicators in a suburban population in Nigeria. The data of 497 children aged 6 months to 71 months who were recruited through a household survey conducted in Ile-Ife, Nigeria was analysed for prevalence of ECC and risk indicators. Information on children’s ages, sex, socioeconomic status, tooth brushing habits, sugary snacks consumption, use of fluoridated toothpaste, birth rank, infant-feeding practices, breastfeeding practices, maternal age at childbirth, and maternal knowledge of oral health was obtained. Children’s oral hygiene and caries status was also determined. Risk factors associated with ECC were determined using logistic regression analysis. Thirty-three (6.6 %) children had ECC. Four (0.8 %) had severe ECC. The four risk indicators for ECC were the child’s gender, mothers’ knowledge of oral health, consumption of sugary snacks in between meals more than three times a day, and the child’s oral hygiene status. Females (PR: −0.06; 95 % CI: −0.01– -0.01; p = 0.02), and children with mothers who had good knowledge of oral health (PR: −0.06; 95 % CI: −0.11––0.008; p = 0.02) were less likely to have ECC. Children who consumed sugary snacks in between meals three times a day or more (PR: 0.05; CI: 0.003 – 0.01; P = 0.04) and children with fair oral hygiene (PR: 0.05; 95 % CI: 0.005–0.10; p = 0.03) were more likely to have ECC. The prevalence of ECC in the study population was low. Promoting good oral hygiene practices and enhancingmothers’ knowledge of oral health may help reduce further, the risk for ECC in the study population.

The study of dental anomalies is important because it generates information that is important for both the anthropological and clinical management of patients. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and pattern of presentation of dental hard-tissue developmental anomalies in the mix dentition of children residing in Ile-Ife, a suburban region of Nigeria. Information on age, sex and socioeconomic status was collected from 1,036 children aged four months to 12 years through a household survey. Clinical examination was conducted to assess the presence of dental anomalies. Associations between age, sex, socioeconomic status, prevalence, and pattern of presentation of the developmental hard-tissue dental anomalies were determined. Two hundred and seventy six (26.6%) children had dental anomalies. Of these, 23.8% had one anomaly, 2.5% had two anomalies, and 0.3% had more than two anomalies. Of the children with anomalies, 49.3%were male, 50.7%were female, and 47.8%, 28.6% and 23.6% were children from low, middle and high socioeconomic classes, respectively. More anomalies were seen in permanent than primary dentition. Anomalies of tooth structure were most prevalent (16.1%); anomalies which affect tooth number were least prevalent (1.3%). Dens evaginatus, peg-shaped lateral, macrodontia, and talon cusp were more prevalent in the permanent dentition, and dens evaginatus peg-shaped lateral and macrodontia were more prevalent in the maxilla. There were significantly more macrodontia anomalies in males and in children of high socioeconomic status. This large survey of dental hard-tissue anomalies found in the primary dentition and mixed dentition of children in Nigeria provides anthropological and clinical data that may aid the detection and management of dental problems of children in Nigeria.

The objectives of this study were to assess the association between children and parents’ knowledge of caries preventive practices, the parents’ caries preventive oral health behaviours and children’s caries preventive oral health behaviour and caries experience. Three hundred and twenty four participants aged 8–12 years, 308 fathers and 318 mothers were recruited through a household survey conducted in Suburban Nigeria. A questionnaire was administered to generate information on fathers, mothers and children’s knowledge of caries prevention measures and their oral health behaviour. Clinical examination was conducted on the children to determine their dmft/DMFT. Analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of the children’s good oral health behaviour. The mothers’ oral health behaviours were significant predictors of the children’s oral health behaviours. Children who had good knowledge of caries prevention measures had significant increased odds of brushing their teeth twice daily or more. The children’s caries prevalence was 13.9%, the mean dmft was 0.2 and the mean DMFT was 0.09. None of the dependent variables could predict the presence of caries in children. The study highlights the effect of maternal oral health behaviour on the oral health behaviour of children aged 8 years to 12 years in suburban Nigeria. A pilot study is needed to evaluate how enhanced maternal preventive oral health practices can improve the oral health preventive practices of children.

Molar Incisor Hypoplasia (MIH) and Deciduous Molar Hypoplasia (DMH) have significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence, pattern and clinical presentation of MIH and DMH in children resident in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and their association with sex and socioeconomic status of the children. Information on age, sex and socioeconomic status was collected from 563 children aged 3 to 5 years and 8 to 10 years using a structured questionnaire through a household survey. Clinical examination was conducted to assess for the presence of DMH and MIH. The prevalence of DMH and MIH were determined. Tests of association between sex, socioeconomic status, prevalence, and pattern of presentation of both DMH and MIH were conducted using Pearson’s Chi-squared test Fisher’s exact test. Fifteen (4.6 %) of the 327 children aged 3 to 5 years and 23 (9.7 %) of the 237 children aged 8 to 10 years had DMH and MIH respectively. There were no significant association between DMH, sex (p = 0.49) and socioeconomic status (p = 0.32). There were also no significant association between MIH, sex (p = 0.31) and socioeconomic status (p = 0.41). MIH/DMH co-morbidity was observed in eight (34.8 %) of the 23 children with MIH. The mandible and maxilla were affected equally. Antimere was not observed. The prevalence of DMH and the prevalence of MIH in the study population were high. DMH and MIH were not associated with sex and socioeconomic status. There was no specific pattern identified in the presentation of DMH and MIH. The prevalence of DMH/MIH co-morbidity is also high. Patients with DMH should be screened for MIH.

Developmental defects of the enamel (DDE) increase the risk for diseases that impact negatively on the quality of life. The objective of this study was to compare the oral health quality of life of children with molar-incisor-hypomineralisation (MIH) and enamel hypoplasia; and assess if caries worsened the impact of these lesions on the quality of life. This study recruited 853 6 to 16-years-old school children. They filled the Child-OIDP questionnaire. The MIH, enamel hypoplasia, caries and oral hygiene status was assessed. Poisson regression was used to determine the impact of MIH and enamel hypoplasia on the oral health quality of life, after adjusting for the effect of sex, age, socioeconomic class, oral hygiene and caries status. The prevalence of MIH and enamel hypoplasia was 2.9% and 7.6% respectively. There was no significant difference in the mean child-OIDP scores of children with or without MIH (p = 0.57), children with or without enamel hypoplasia (p = 0.48), and children with enamel hypoplasia with and without caries (p = 0.30). Children with enamel hypoplasia and caries had worse outcomes for speaking (p = 0.01). Children with middle (AOR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.60–4.67; P < 0.01) and low (AOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.04–2.95; p = 0.03) socioeconomic status, and those with caries (AOR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.26–3.22; p = 0.03) had their oral health quality of life negatively impacted. MIH and enamel hypoplasia had no significant impact on the overall oral health quality of life of children resident in southwestern Nigeria. However, children with caries and those from middle and low socioeconomic classes had poorer oral health quality of life.