Dental auxiliaries in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria; oral hygiene practices and dental service utilization

Objective: This study was aimed at determining the oral self-care practices and dental service utilization among dental auxiliaries in teaching hospitals in Nigeria, and also to assess the dental utilization of their relatives. Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional multicenter study conducted among dental auxiliaries from three teaching hospitals in Nigeria, namely; University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-araba, Lagos State and University College Hospital, (UCH) Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaires were used to obtain information on participants’ sociodemography, oral hygiene practices and dental service utilization. The self-rated oral health status was used to assess their oral health behavior (frequency of brushing, regular check-up and fluoride application). Statistical analysis was done using the IBM SPSS version 20.0. Statistical significance level was considered at p ≤ 0.05. Results: A total of 101 participants were enrolled into the study, consisting of dental nurses (16[15.8%]), dental technicians (21[20.8%]), dental technologists (46[45.5%]) and dental therapists (18[17.8%]). The mean age of the participants was 35.12 ± 8.89 years. Female: Male ratio was 2.26: 1. Most (90.1%) of the study participants rated their oral hygiene as excellent. Slightly over half (57.4%) brushed twice daily; 25% of the dental nurses, 52.4% of the dental technicians, 58.7% of the dental technologists and 88.9% of the dental therapists, this was statistically significant (p=0.002). Frequency of dental check-up for six months among the participants was low (31.7%). Only 31 (30.7%) of the participants had scaling and polishing done in the last 6 months. More of the dental nurses (93.8%) and technicians (71.4%) had invited their relatives for scaling and polishing compared to the other dental auxiliaries (p=0.0019). Conclusion: Even though the dental therapists had better tooth brushing practices in this study, the oral hygiene practices and utilization of dental services by the dental auxiliaries were generally less than optimal. There was a disparity between the self-rated oral health status and oral health practices of the dental auxiliaries. There is need for better motivation of dental auxiliaries towards optimal oral hygiene behavior.