Brazilian primary school teachers' knowledge about immediate management of dental trauma

Elementary school teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward emergency management of traumatic dental injuries

The consequences of traumatic dental injuries can be even more serious when their emergency management procedures are inadequate. Since traumatic accidents frequently occur at school, it is crucial that teachers be knowledgeable enough to assist an injured child. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the elementary school teachers of a Brazilian city toward dental trauma in permanent teeth, and its emergency practices. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling methods was used. An online questionnaire was distributed through social media, consisting of three parts: demographic characteristics and professional information; previous experiences and attitudes toward dental trauma; teachers' knowledge of this subject. Descriptive and statistical analyses were carried out. Pearson chi-squared test (p < 0.05) was used. A total of 217 teachers participated in the study. The power of the sample was 95%. Half of the teachers had already witnessed a dental trauma incident involving students, and 70.5% never received any information on the subject. The teachers who were provided previous information were the ones who opted to search for the tooth fragment (p=0.036) in cases of crown fracture, and for the lost tooth (p = 0.025) in cases of avulsion. They were also the ones who chose to wash the tooth in running water (p = 0.018), and look for a dentist in the first 30 or 60 minutes after the trauma (p = 0.026). Most of the teachers assessed did not have adequate knowledge of dental trauma. Having previous information was associated with more assertive practices in trauma management.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of School Teachers Regarding Dental Trauma and its Emergency Management in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Questionnaire-Based Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction

Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are a common occurrence in the general population, and they are one of the most severe dental public health issues among children.

Aim

This cross-sectional study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of school teachers in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, regarding dental trauma and its emergency management.

Material and Methods

This cross-sectional study included teachers of elementary and middle schools both male and female in Madinah. Each teacher received a study questionnaire and was briefed about the procedure of filling it. The questionnaire contained 17 questions which are related to the knowledge, attitude, and practices relating to TDIs.

Results

A total of 294 teachers participated in the present study, which includes 163 males (55.4%) and 131 females (44.6%). When we asked the respondents if an avulsed tooth may be replanted, 49.7% answered in the positive and men show more awareness compared to women. When questioned regarding the storage media, 31.3% of participants said they will store the tooth in a cloth or tissue which was the wrong answer and 60.9% of males and 39.1% of females were unaware of appropriate storage media. A percentage of 68.4 of the teachers were not willing to replant a knocked-out tooth (tooth avulsion), 59.7% of these were males, and 40.3% were females. A percentage of 59.2 of participants consider that the dental trauma is an emergency situation, while 25.9% did not consider it as an emergency situation and 15% were not aware of the same.

Conclusion

The majority of the participants were not aware of dental trauma and its emergency management. Children indulge in contact sports and play at schools posing the risk for a significant amount of dental trauma. Affirmative action from teachers is critical for successful treatment outcomes.

Evaluation of teachers' knowledge about dental injuries in primary schoolchildren in the city of Isfahan

Background

Dental trauma is a common problem in children, which mostly occurs at school. Traumatic dental injuries often cause unpleasant experiences for children, and immediate and appropriate measures are needed. Its prognosis depends on immediate posttraumatic measures, and schoolteachers can play a key role in the treatment of children. The current study aimed to investigate teachers' knowledge about dental injuries in primary school children in the city of Isfahan.

Materials and Methods

Following a cross-sectional design, the current study was conducted on 248 elementary school teachers who were selected using the simple two-stage random cluster. Then the teachers' knowledge was measured based on a four-choice questionnaire consisted of two parts. According to this questionnaire, teachers were divided into five categories based on their knowledge score which was consist of strongly high knowledge, high knowledge, average knowledge, low awareness, and strongly low knowledge. Data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation coefficient and independent t-test. Statistical significance was considered when P < 0.05.

Results

The total knowledge score of teachers was 45.9%. About 61% of the teachers had a history of exposure to dental injuries. Furthermore, 49.6% of them believed milk was the best environment to keep the avulsed teeth. There was no significant association between teachers' knowledge and education level, history of previous trauma, or participation in a training course, but there was a direct association between teachers' knowledge and their work experience (P < 0.05). Female teachers' knowledge score was significantly higher than their male counterparts (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Participants had a moderate level of knowledge about the management of dental traumas. Hence, it is suggested to develop educational programs to increase teachers' awareness about this issue.

Knowledge and Awareness of School Teachers Regarding Emergency Management of Tooth Avulsion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aim:

This study aimed to assess the general knowledge and awareness of school teachers regarding the first aid emergency dental management of tooth avulsion in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods:

A self-administered, anonymous, close-ended structured questionnaire was given to school teachers in Saudi Arabia. It included information regarding gender, knowledge, and awareness [three parts: basic demographic characteristics focusing on the gender (part one), questions regarding knowledge of school teachers toward emergency management of tooth avulsion (part two), and questions regarding awareness of school teachers toward emergency management of tooth avulsion (part three)].

Results:

A total of 615 school teachers (58% males and 42% females) completed the questionnaire. Approximately 54.3% of the school teachers preferred to immediately refer the child to the dentist if trauma affects permanent teeth (p < 0.05), and only 2.1% opined regarding reposition of the tooth in a normal position. Another 22.9% responded that they would scrub the tooth to clean the dirt and rinse with water, while 19.7% reported that they would keep the tooth in a wet handkerchief until they reach the dentist.

Conclusion:

The knowledge and awareness of schoolteachers regarding the management of avulsed teeth are insufficient; thus, education programs on traumatic dental injuries are essential.

Knowledge of Emergency Physicians about the Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries: A Cross-sectional Study in Northern Iran

Background

Dental trauma is a common dental public health problem among the children and adults. As the emergency departments are usually the first contact point for patients after a trauma, this study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge of emergency medicine specialists or residents and general practitioners (GPs) working in the emergency departments about the management of traumatic dental injuries.

Methods

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all emergency medicine specialists or residents and GPs working in the emergency department of hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences were evaluated. Data were collected using a questionnaire comprising questions on demographic information and physicians' knowledge of how to deal and manage different dental injuries. The information was analyzed using t-test and chi-square statistical test.

Results

The level of knowledge was good in 71.5% of emergency medicine specialists and average in 75% of the residents and 93.4% of GPs. None of the participants had low level of knowledge about management of traumatic dental injuries. There was a statistically significant association between physicians' knowledge and their job position (P<0.001). Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences between gender and the history of participating in dental trauma courses with the level of physicians' knowledge (P>0.05).

Conclusion

The results of present study highlights the need for training programs to raise the knowledge of emergency medicine residents and GPs about how to effectively manage the traumatic dental injuries in patients presenting to the emergency department.

Italian guidelines for the prevention and management of dental trauma in children

Dental trauma is a frequent occurrence in children and adolescent and a correct diagnosis and treatment are essential for a favourable long-term prognosis. The present Guidelines aim to formulate evidence-based recommendations to assist dentists, paediatricians, surgeons, teachers, school and sport staff, parents in the prevention and first aid of dental trauma in children and to provide a careful assessment of the medico-legal implications, reviewing the first draft of the guidelines published in 2012. A multidisciplinary panel on the behalf of the Italian Ministry of Health and in collaboration with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Epidemiology and Community Dentistry of Milan, developed this document. The following four queries were postulated: 1) Which kind of precautions the health personnel, parents, sports and educational personnel must activate in order to prevent the dental trauma damage? 2) How an orofacial trauma in paediatric patients should be managed either in the Emergency Care Unit and/or in private dental office? 3) What criteria should be adopted by a dentist private practitioner to fill in a certificate in cases of dental and/or tempomandibular joint trauma occurring in children and adolescents? 4) What are the elements that should lead clinicians to suspect a non-accidental dental trauma? A systematic review and analysis of the scientific literature published in English, Italian and French from 2007 to 2017 regarding dental trauma in children and adolescents aged 0-18 years was performed, and about 100 papers were analysed and included. The following four domains were analysed and discussed: Dental Trauma Prevention Strategies and Health Education, First aid in orofacial and dental trauma, Certificate of the dental trauma, Oral and dental signs of child abuse and neglect. Twenty-eight recommendations were draw up and codified by the panel according to the Methodological handbook, produced by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, in order to guide physicians in the prevention and first aid of dental trauma in children and adolescents. In addition, a careful assessment of the medico-legal implications is reported in this document.

Assessment of schoolteachers' knowledge about management of traumatic dental injuries in Al-Madinah city, Saudi Arabia

Objective:

This study aimed to assess the knowledge of primary and intermediate schoolteachers about the management of TDIs in Al-Madinah city, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods:

A previously validated, self-administered, anonymous, close-ended structured questionnaire was administered to schoolteachers in 13 different schools. It included two parts: basic demographic information (part one) and questions regarding the management of dental traumatic injuries (part two).

Results:

A total of 178 schoolteachers voluntarily completely filled in the questionnaire. Nearly 28.1% of the teachers acquired a first-aid training program and 6.2% only learned about dental injury management in first-aid training. Concerning the knowledge about the management of dental traumatic injuries, 55.1% of teachers realized the appropriate time for treatment of dental traumatic injuries. A few percentage of teachers selected correct answers for the suitable storage medium. The most commonly selected storage media were found to be cold milk, physiological saline, and patient's saliva at 14.6%, 6.7%, and 2.2%, respectively.

Conclusion:

The knowledge among primary and intermediate schoolteachers in the management of dental traumatic injuries is unsatisfactory.

Awareness of Dental Trauma Management among School Teachers of Kannur, Kerala, India

INTRODUCTION

Dental trauma can overtake dental caries and periodontal disease as the most significant threat to dental health among young people. The prognosis of traumatized teeth depends on prompt and appropriate treatment. The role of school teachers in the prevention of traumatic dental injuries is a topic that has received a great deal of attention in recent years. However, studies conducted in different regions of the world have demonstrated that teachers and other lay people's knowledge about traumatic dental injuries is inadequate and their behavior does not contribute to reduce the sequelae.

AIM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of school teachers about dental trauma and its management in Kannur district.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The survey was conducted under the Department of Paedodontics and Preventive Dentistry; Kannur Dental College among 303 school teachers randomly selected from 16 schools. Four schools were selected from 16 schools using stratified cluster sampling technique. A cross sectional study design was used. A stratified cluster sampling method was done to select the study subjects. The nature and purpose of the study was first explained to the teachers in local language. Following this the printed questionnaire was distributed to school teachers. The questionnaire was prepared based on the needs of the study after referring similar questionnaires used in studies conducted in different parts of the world.

RESULTS

A statistically significant association was found between the teacher's knowledge regarding trauma and their teaching experience. Out of the total school teachers who participated in the study, 90.1% responded correctly that the teeth most frequently affected by traumatic accidents are the upper front teeth. Nearly 23.4% responded correctly regarding management of traumatic tooth fracture. Almost 46.5% had correct knowledge regarding the reimplantation of avulsed permanent teeth. Only 14.2% responded correctly to the proper storage medium for avulsed teeth.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded from the study that among the school teachers surveyed there was significantly very low knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma.

Evaluation of Knowledge of Physical Education Students on Dental Trauma

Introduction:

Sports’ practitioners are vulnerable to dental trauma; if this occurs, the emergency treatment should be fast and efficient. This may be performed by any person at the site of the accident, not only by dental professionals. Physical educators may face dental trauma and should be able to provide proper care. This study had the objective evaluated the knowledge of physical education graduates on dental trauma.

Materials and Methods:

A questionnaire containing questions on dental trauma was applied to 199 physical education students; after collection of the questionnaires, data were tabulated and processed on the software Epi Info 2000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333, USA). As a result, only 36.7% of participants would take the individual suffering trauma to the dental professional, 56.8% believe that the avulsed tooth should be replanted, and 42.2% would replant it. Only 7.5% would store the avulsed tooth in an ideal storage medium for transportation.

Conclusion:

It was concluded that there is a lack of knowledge on dental trauma among physical education graduates, evidencing the need of public policies to allow education on this issue.