Oral Health Status and Dental Care Practices Among Under-Five Children in Ogun State, South West Nigeria

Oral health in early childhood is an important but frequently neglected dimension of paediatric care in Nigeria. Dental caries, oral pain, and poor dental hygiene habits established in infancy can have lasting consequences for nutrition, speech development, and school performance. This cross-sectional descriptive study examines the oral health status and dental care practices of children under five years in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. A total of 310 mother-child pairs were recruited from child welfare clinics in Sagamu and Ijebu Ode local government areas. Oral health assessment was conducted by a trained examiner using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index adapted for primary dentition. Caregivers completed structured interviews on dental hygiene practices, sugar consumption patterns, and dental care-seeking behaviour. Dental caries prevalence in primary teeth was 38.4% in children over 24 months. Toothbrushing was initiated before 12 months of age in only 22.3% of children. Fluoride toothpaste was used in 31.6% of households. Daily sugar consumption above twice daily was reported for 64.2% of children. Only 9.7% of mothers had ever taken their child for a dental clinic visit. Awareness of dental caries as a disease was present in 43.9% of caregivers. Recommendations include integrating oral health promotion into child welfare services, caregiver education on sugar restriction and early toothbrushing, and training paediatric nurses in basic oral health assessment. Keywords: oral health, dental caries, under-five children, Ogun State, South West Nigeria.