Pain-related pediatric dental attendance in a Nigerian dental clinic

Abstract

Objective: To determine the characteristics of children presenting with pain at the Pediatric Dental Clinic of a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted among consecutive patients attending the Pediatric Dental Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. Chi-square test was used in comparing proportions, and statistical significance was set at P< 0.05. Results: A total of 193 child dental patients aged between 2 and 16 years with a mean age of 9.00 ± 3.91 years were studied. The majority of the participants were females (61.1%) aged 6–12 years (57.5%), indigenous people (64.2%), of high socioeconomic status (69.4%), and their mother had a tertiary education (63.2%). More than three-quarters (84.5%) of the participants reported tooth-related dental pain. Participants of middle and high socioeconomic status and those whose mothers had more than primary education significantly had more tooth-related pain. The primary diagnosis was mainly dental caries and its complications. The main treatment rendered includes extraction, root canal treatment, pulpectomy, and scaling and polishing. There was a significant association between age, main diagnosis, and treatment rendered. Conclusion: Tooth-related pain which is the predominant dental pain in this study was significantly lower in children of lower socioeconomic status and whose mothers had lower educational attainment.

Keywords

• Characteristics
• child dental patient
• dental pain
• Nigeria