Perceived Health Effects of Dental Amalgam among Dentists in Selected SouthWestern State of Nigeria

Objective: To investigate the level of use of amalgam and perceived health effects of the material among selected dentists from southwestern state in Nigeria. Material & Methods: A descriptive study involving all consenting registered practicing dentists in both public and private health institution in 3 out of 6 southwestern states. Using a structured questionnaire, the information obtained included the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, frequency of use of amalgam, dentist’s knowledge of the signs and symptoms of amalgam toxicity and perceived health effects of amalgam. The questions on amalgam toxicity were made up of 16 responses, with the score of one (1) given to a correctly answered question while zero was given to wrongly answered Results: The availability of amalgam was the most frequently (50.4%) mentioned reason for using the material, followed by the financial capability of the patient (24.4%) and the frequency of use was still much higher in tertiary hospitals. Majority (82.3%) agreed to the safety of amalgam, while 17(12.5%) perceived that amalgam was not safe out of which only two (11.8%) agreed to an outright ban of the material. Majority (88.9%) were aware of the controversy concerning the use of amalgam with undergraduate education being the commonest source of awareness as seen in 63.5%, followed by information from journals /textbooks (52.6%), colleagues (18.5%) , continuing dental education 17.8% and conferences 12.6% indicating more than one source of information in some people Conclusion: Dental amalgam is still perceived to be a safe restorative material in Nigeria.