The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria

Background: The elderly population of Nigeria has grown dramatically since the beginning of the twentieth century indicating the need for an increased geriatric care. Objective: To evaluate the status and need for geriatric dental education in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A search of reports in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: O. Ibiyemi, S.T. Ibiyemi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nigerian Dental Association 2020-09-01
Series:Nigerian Dental Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://nigeriandentaljournal.ng/index.php/ndj/article/view/11
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850162603802755072
author O. Ibiyemi
S.T. Ibiyemi
author_facet O. Ibiyemi
S.T. Ibiyemi
author_sort O. Ibiyemi
collection DOAJ
description Background: The elderly population of Nigeria has grown dramatically since the beginning of the twentieth century indicating the need for an increased geriatric care. Objective: To evaluate the status and need for geriatric dental education in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A search of reports in libraries of Universities that offer Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme and websites of relevant educational agencies and institutions such as the Nigerian University Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria on dental education in Nigeria focusing on geriatric dental education was undertaken. Results: There are nine universities that offer Bachelor of Dental Surgery in Nigeria; eight are owned by the federal government and one owned by the state government. Of the nine Faculties of Dentistry, four were established over 40 years ago producing about 160 dental graduates every year. The other five Faculties of Dentistry were established about 15 years ago producing about 100 dental graduates every year. At postgraduate level, there are ten recognized specialties in Dentistry and approximately 12 accredited health institutions offer about 80 places for specialist training every year. The specialist training is regulated by both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and West African College of Surgeons and a Fellowship is awarded by these colleges to about 15 specialists every year. There are only two universities that offer postgraduate academic Masters programmes comprising Masters in dental public health and Master in dental sciences. Only one dental school has an undergraduate curriculum that has geriatric dentistry. At postgraduate level, geriatric dentistry was not developed as a separate and independent specialty. Undergraduate dental education is monitored by both the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the National University Commission. Conclusion: It is recommended that geriatric dentistry should be included in the curriculum of undergraduate dental students and should be well structured in postgraduate specialists' curriculum. Postgraduate diploma and degree programmes in geriatric dentistry should be established to address the needs of the vast elderly population in Nigeria.  
format Article
id doaj-art-62ddeab01c6c41c2bc92a089b34b2d06
institution OA Journals
issn 0189-1006
language English
publishDate 2020-09-01
publisher Nigerian Dental Association
record_format Article
series Nigerian Dental Journal
spelling doaj-art-62ddeab01c6c41c2bc92a089b34b2d062025-08-20T02:22:32ZengNigerian Dental AssociationNigerian Dental Journal0189-10062020-09-0124210.61172/ndj.v24i2.11The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in NigeriaO. IbiyemiS.T. Ibiyemi Background: The elderly population of Nigeria has grown dramatically since the beginning of the twentieth century indicating the need for an increased geriatric care. Objective: To evaluate the status and need for geriatric dental education in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A search of reports in libraries of Universities that offer Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme and websites of relevant educational agencies and institutions such as the Nigerian University Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria on dental education in Nigeria focusing on geriatric dental education was undertaken. Results: There are nine universities that offer Bachelor of Dental Surgery in Nigeria; eight are owned by the federal government and one owned by the state government. Of the nine Faculties of Dentistry, four were established over 40 years ago producing about 160 dental graduates every year. The other five Faculties of Dentistry were established about 15 years ago producing about 100 dental graduates every year. At postgraduate level, there are ten recognized specialties in Dentistry and approximately 12 accredited health institutions offer about 80 places for specialist training every year. The specialist training is regulated by both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and West African College of Surgeons and a Fellowship is awarded by these colleges to about 15 specialists every year. There are only two universities that offer postgraduate academic Masters programmes comprising Masters in dental public health and Master in dental sciences. Only one dental school has an undergraduate curriculum that has geriatric dentistry. At postgraduate level, geriatric dentistry was not developed as a separate and independent specialty. Undergraduate dental education is monitored by both the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the National University Commission. Conclusion: It is recommended that geriatric dentistry should be included in the curriculum of undergraduate dental students and should be well structured in postgraduate specialists' curriculum. Postgraduate diploma and degree programmes in geriatric dentistry should be established to address the needs of the vast elderly population in Nigeria.   https://nigeriandentaljournal.ng/index.php/ndj/article/view/11NeedGeriatricEducation
spellingShingle O. Ibiyemi
S.T. Ibiyemi
The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
Nigerian Dental Journal
Need
Geriatric
Education
title The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
title_full The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
title_fullStr The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
title_short The Need for Geriatric Dental Education in Nigeria
title_sort need for geriatric dental education in nigeria
topic Need
Geriatric
Education
url https://nigeriandentaljournal.ng/index.php/ndj/article/view/11
work_keys_str_mv AT oibiyemi theneedforgeriatricdentaleducationinnigeria
AT stibiyemi theneedforgeriatricdentaleducationinnigeria
AT oibiyemi needforgeriatricdentaleducationinnigeria
AT stibiyemi needforgeriatricdentaleducationinnigeria