title: Programme guidelines for promoting good oral health for children in Nigeria: a position paper.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this paper is to draw attention to the oral health needs of children in Nigeria, and promote the use of appropriate interventions for disease prevention in the population. It also evaluates the value of the ongoing twice-daily tooth brushing campaign, which focuses on promoting good periodontal health and its relevance for children in Nigeria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main oral health burden for children in Nigeria is untreated dental caries, attributable to low utilization of oral health facilities. While there is a strong association between oral hygiene status and caries occurrence, no research had established an association between frequency of tooth brushing and caries in children in Nigeria. Prevalence of caries and gingivitis is low, despite the fact that a majority of children brush once a day and most of them have fair oral hygiene. Campaigns that promote twice daily brushing to prevent chronic periodontitis in children are not driven by evidences supporting the local epidemic, and therefore cannot be considered as efficient use of the limited resources available.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Existing evidences show that the main oral health need of children in Nigeria is the management of untreated caries. Promoting the treatment of caries should be the primary focus of oral health programmes for children in Nigeria, as this would reduce further risks of developing new carious lesions. Public health campaigns should focus efforts at creating demand for oral health care services, for both preventive and curative purposes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. toyinukpong@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Morenike O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Folayan
authors.forename: Abiola A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adeniyi
authors.forename: Nneka M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Chukwumah
authors.forename: Nneka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Onyejaka
authors.forename: Ayodeji O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Esan
authors.forename: Oyinkan O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Sofola
authors.forename: Omolola O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Orenuga
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000517:prevention & control; D004245:DMF Index; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009549:Nigeria; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000379:methods