Community Oral Health Care programme is an integral aspect of Dental education, particularly the Bachelor of Dentistry degree course (programme) in the Faculty of Dentistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
AIM OF THE COMMUNITY ORAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMME
The aim is to produce research savvy, community oral health service-oriented and skilled dental surgeons and allied professionals whilst providing affordable, accessible oral health care to the underserved communities.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
- Provide hands–on training to specialty training doctors, undergraduate and postgraduate students, whilst stimulating their interest in oral health care services in rural and underserved communities.
- Acquire baseline data on oral health status of both Igboora and Idikan communities.
- Advocacy and oral health education to the above communities including leaders and decision makers.
- Provide affordable and accessible Primary oral health care services, based on the basic package of oral care (BPOC) to underserved rural communities.
- Conduct oral health community outreach programmes to difficult to reach populations in remote areas as well as to targeted populations such as school children, pregnant/nursing women, market women/men, motor park workers etc.
- Public health surveillance of oral diseases.
- To carryout research in the above communities
The unit maintains well equipped primary health care clinics at Idikan, a semi urban community within Ibadan North Local Government Area (LGA) and Igboora, a rural community in Ibarapa Central Local Government Area (LGA), where it provides highly subsidized, affordable and accessible dental services. Workers from these clinics conduct outreach programmes (school health programmes, targeted population intervention programmes where it provides oral health education, screening and basic prevention and treatment) to underserved communities.
The unit works in close collaboration with community Health Nurses, Community Health Officers (CHOs), Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), Head of Schools, teachers. Local Inspectors of Education (LIE), Zonal Inspectors of Education (ZIE), Local Government Authorities, the Traditional Rulers and Community Leaders as well as the traditional town criers.
It organises training workshops for teachers, community health extension workers, community leaders and decision makers in the communities.
HISTORY
The Community Oral Health Care Programme in this Faculty was initiated in 1982 by Professor Gbemisola Oke nee Aderinokun, the pioneer community Dentistry specialist in University of Ibadan, with a grant from World Health Organisation (WHO). This was born out of the need to provide oral health care to underserved communities and also enable dental students, house officers, resident doctors and postgraduate students acquire the necessary skills in community dentistry.
This programme started with the establishment of the first in Nigeria primary oral health care clinic in Idikan primary health care clinic at Idikan, a traditional community located at the interior of Ibadan city. This clinic was equipped with a locally constructed dental chair and a wooden oral health education set of teeth designed by professor Oke. This primary oral health care clinic serves more than four adjacent local government areas.
In 2008 with the increase in student population and inclusion of rural posting in the curriculum the community dentistry unit expanded its services to Igboora, a rural town in Ibarapa community, 30mins drive from Idere town which is known for its tourist attraction because of its landscapes, good valleys, mountains, caves and lakes as well as its wonderful rock formation.
The Igboora community dentistry programme was started with a grant from Mac Arthur Foundation with Professor Oke as the Principal investigator and professor Juliana Taiwo and Dr. Ibiyemi O. as co-investigators.
It consist of a primary oral health care clinic complex (with two dental chairs, a sterilizing room and a corridor/waiting area) located in Ibarapa Primary health care clinic in Igboora town, which is specifically built for the training of medical students, Resident doctors postgraduate students and allied medical staff in the practice of community health care. Thus the centre is designed/built in a conducive environment surrounded by beautiful hills and landscapes with transport and accommodation for trainers, students and researchers.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Sustenance of the community oral health programme for 36 years.
- Improvement in the knowledge of causes and prevention of caries and periodontal disease of the members of the communities. (Lawal F.B. et al 2015)
- On the average more than 707 patients are treated yearly in Idikan primary oral health clinic and 378 patients are treated yearly in Igboora.
- On the average more than 62 outreach programmes are conducted in Idikan and environs and 40 in Ibarapa communities yearly.
- Whilst passive surveillance through data collection from the primary health care clinics is ongoing, active surveillance of oral diseases particularly the common ones has been difficult to achieve due to cumbersome methods used to collect oral health data and lack of encouragement from Government authorities.
- Has provided rural training for a few international students from Ghana Dental School, University of Maryland USA, as well as National resident doctors from various institutions in Nigeria.
- More than 1440 students, a great number of residents doctors, house officers(intern) and postgraduate students have had either 3 months or more tutelage and training in this unit with excellent outcome with some of them replicating the practice in their various institutions during Youth Corp service etc. (e.g. Dr. Okwilagbe).
- The unit has conducted several workshops and training for community health extension workers and teachers (e.g. Dedeke et al 2014 demonstrated improvement in their knowledge and more referrals to the primary health care clinics).
- The community dentistry unit realising the gap between the tertiary and primary health care services gave birth to the department of family dentistry.
- This programme has yielded many dissertations and publications.