Dentistry and medical dominance: Nigeria perspective

Abstract

The relationship between medicine and dentistry in Nigeria from the time of colonial rule to date is highlighted. Records have shown that medical practice is much older than dental practice and this pioneering advantage in health education enhanced the establishment of the
first medical school in Ibadan in 1948. Whereas, almost two decades after, the first dental school in Nigeria which incidentally is the oldest dental institution in Black Africa was founded at the University of Lagos in 1966. The ideology prevailing in Nigeria at that time was
undoubtedly believed to have been strongly influenced by the colonial link with Britain. Subsequently, three additional dental schools were established in Ile-Ife, Ibadan and Benin to bring to a total of four throughout a nation that can easily boast of twenty-four medical schools. This preponderance of medical schools over the dental institutions is a strong index that may
be said to precipitate the dominance of medicine over dentistry.