Paediatricians’ perception about oral healthcare of children in Nigeria

Child care physicians by virtue of their duties are responsible for the provision of primary health care to all age groups of children starting from neonatal age through toddlerhood, preschool, school age and adolescence [1]. Further the duties of referring children to other clinical specialties including oral and dental health fall within the whelm of the paediatrician in addition to the provision of preventive oral health education to parents/caregivers as well as older children and adolescents [2, 3]. These the paediatricians contribute towards child dental health because of the unique position they occupy in the society as most children are taken to them to evaluate from an early age in life by their parents/caregivers for medi-care as well as guidance on the ways to ensure that their children’s normal growth and development are met [4].

Majority of the oral diseases in children have been shown to be preventable [5]. And many professional bodies including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) have continued to highlight the need for prevention, diagnosis and treatment as key to the restoration and maintenance of oral health of all children [6]. Comprehensive health care therefore can only be realized if dental care is given its right priority in the primary health care.

The importance of prevention, diagnosis and treatment to restore and uphold standard oral health in children therefore cannot be over-emphasized [7]. Paediatricians and other healthcare providers could play an invaluable role in ensuring the maintenance of optimal preventive as well as curative dental health in children [8]. In settings where paediatricians have adequate trainings on oral health care they are invaluable assets to majority of children particularly the poor and minority groups who suffer disproportionately from dental disorders due to limited access to dental care [9].

In Nigeria the introduction of the National Oral Health Policy has opened the door for more interest in oral health particularly in children through the conduct of school oral health screening exercises as well as school based oral health education as part of the school health programme [10, 11].

However, the most important factor affecting preventive oral health performance is the knowledge and function of the medical group, in this instance, the paediatricians concerning oral healthcare in our setting [12]. Several studies have reported limited knowledge of oral health subject matter amongst paediatricians [9, 13‐17]. And particularly in Nigeria where the overall dentist/paediatric dental workforce is not the optimal [18], but with a sizeable population of paediatricians spread across the length and breadth of Nigeria [19], it is pertinent to conduct a survey to determine their knowledge of preventive as well as curative dentistry in children. Hence, the aim of the study was to determine paediatricians’ views about oral health care in children in Nigeria.

The paediatricians by virtue of their training and services they render are the first set of medical personnel responsible for evaluating every neonate and subsequently continue to take charge of their healthcare till the child attains the official age of maturity [1, 4, 7]. The paediatrician therefore occupies a central and important position towards the realization of comprehensive healthcare for all children including oral health care. However, from the current study majority of the respondents (paediatricians) were found to have limited knowledge about most standard oral health care in children. Several studies have reported poor knowledge of oral health subject matter amongst paediatricians [9, 13‐17]. However studies from Turkey [20], as well as in Canada [21], and some other workers had reported contrary views [9, 22].

The training of a qualified paediatrician in Nigeria currently requires 3 stages of examinations including primaries, parts I and II fellowship examinations lasting between 4 to 6 years. During the periods of parts I and II postings every trainee is exposed to various core and elective postings in addition to general paediatrics. However, postings in dentistry/paediatric dentistry in the undergraduate as well as post graduate training in paediatrics in addition to continuing medical education in such important subject matter like paediatric oral health are currently lacking in our setting and this could be partly responsible for the poor knowledge of current preventive pediatric oral healthcare among paediatricians.

Concerning the practice of paediatric dentistry particularly in the United States, the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry [6, 7], had recommended early referral of every child to see a paediatric dentist from six months of age. From the present study, in terms of early referral for dental consultations, most of the respondents favored referral of a child for a dental consultation following caregiver/older child complaint of dental problems. The need for early referral in order to maintain standard oral healthcare in children cannot be over- emphasized as it helps to achieve and sustain standard oral healthcare in our children.

In some settings where dentists and particularly paediatric dentists are limited or in impoverished communities, a paediatrician with adequate dental exposure during medical school as well as residency training could be of invaluable asset [9]. Though the paediatric workforce in Nigeria is still not the desired [19], the current geographical spread is still offering a reasonable level of care to our children nationwide and the bulk of their basic oral health care are most likely anchored on the paediatricians.

Majority of the paediatricians disapproved gum pad cleaning in young infants. However most researchers have demonstrated that breastfeeding could be associated with caries formation particularly when the feeding pattern is associated with libitum feeding known to promote tooth decay and dental carries [23]. However, it has been shown that regular cleaning of the gum pad with moist gauzed pad/clean washcloth could help in reducing the accumulations of bacteria and other micro-organisms in the month which could convert milk sugar (lactose) or other fermentable carbohydrates to acids and predispose the child to formation of dental caries [7]. Exclusive breastfeeding is known to be the bedrock of infant nutrition. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria is as low as 17 % [24], which implies that most of the children are either practicing partial breastfeeding and another few on exclusive formula feeding which promotes the likelihood of formation of caries. Though majority of the study participants may have responded contrary to the best practice guidelines mothers should be counseled on wiping of their babies gum with clean, moist gauze pad or washcloth every day to limit the development of caries in them [7, 25].

In furtherance to the assurance of adequate oral health in children, caregivers ought to be educated and meant to also understand when they should commence tooth brushing in children. A few of the respondents 32 (26.4 %) in the current study suggested starting tooth brushing in infants as soon as a tooth appear in a child and nearly one-fifth (19.8 %) were ambivalent of the correct time to initiate tooth brushing in a child. The importance of early initiation of tooth brushing in children as soon as a tooth appears cannot be over-emphasized as it reduces the incidence of carries as well as improves the overall oral health. Timely initiation of tooth brushing in a child equally ensures sustainability of good tooth brushing later in childhood and adulthood respectively [26].

Majority of the respondents disapproved the use of pacifiers in infants and young children. Some oral habits including pacifier usage are common in young children and have been reported to help in preventing mortality due to sudden infant death syndrome [27]. Though it has some desirable effects, pacifier usage in children if used more frequently and prolonged could equally predispose such children to development of otitis media [28], delayed speech development [29], in addition to some dental disorders like dento- alveolar deformities [29, 30]. Hence, it is recommended that further paediatric neurological as well as dental evaluation be sought if non-nutritive sucking habits persist beyond three years of age [31]. Therefore the benefit of the use of pacifier in young children should be weighed against its possible health risks and erred on the side of caution.

Most of the respondents (76.9 %) felt that the paediatricians by general and our local content training are competent in terms of the provision of preventive oral health as well as identifying cases requiring dental expertise which are referred accordingly in our setting.

However, nearly four-fifth of them recommended that the current postgraduate training curriculum in paediatrics should incorporate knowledge of basic oral healthcare in Nigeria. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) has put up various educational training programmes including online module training curricular for continuing medical education for physicians aimed at improving their quality of care of the children accessing healthcare in their homeland [8]. Such learning programmes could be adopted and reviewed by the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) and made available to its members with the view of increasing capacity in the knowledge of oral healthcare in children among practicing paediatricians in Nigeria.

From the current study majority of the paediatricians were found to have limited knowledge about some basic oral health care in children. It is recommended that the current postgraduate training in paediatrics in our setting should incorporate knowledge of basic oral healthcare in children.