Parental self-perceived knowledge and attitudes toward emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth in Imphal: A cross-sectional study

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.

An educational intervention for improving knowledge of Syrian school children about avulsion using the "save your tooth" poster

BACKGROUND

The prognosis of replantation of an avulsed tooth is affected by the first aid management in the first 15 min after traumatic incident. Knowledge of the optimal management is crucial to successful replantation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of educational intervention using the Arabic version of the "save your tooth" poster designed by the International Association of Dental Traumatology IADT, in improving the knowledge of schoolchildren about first aid management of avulsion of permanent teeth.

METHODS

An interventional educational study was undertaken. A total of 550 schoolchildren aged 9-12 years participated in this study. Thirteen public primary schools in Damascus city were selected. A questionnaire was developed to measure the knowledge of schoolchildren about avulsion of permanent teeth. The translated IADT education poster about avulsion management was adopted.The content of this poster was explained to the children. Two months later, the subjects were re-evaluated using the same questionnaire. Paired sample t-test was used to test the differences existed between the two assessments.

RESULT

A total of 537 schoolchildren completed the questionnaires in which (n = 305) 57% were females and (n = 232) 43% were males. The findings demonstrated significant improvement in the participants' responses after interventional education (P < 0.05). The mean score of knowledge increased significantly from 3.71 at the baseline to 4.03 after the intervention (P < 0.003).

CONCLUSION

The findings of the present study showed that the level of knowledge of Syrian schoolchildren regarding first-aid management of avulsion of permanent teeth was limited at the baseline. The follow-up results showed that the educational intervention based on the "save your tooth" poster was significantly effective in improving the knowledge of schoolchildren. Further interventions to educate all Syrian schoolchildren about avulsion could be of great value to prevent its negative aesthetic, functional, psychological, economic impacts.

Assessment of Parents’ Knowledge and Attitudes on Emergency Management of Permanent Avulsed Teeth in Western Saudi Arabia

Objective:

One of the most common dental injuries is dental avulsion. This study, conducted in the western region of Saudi Arabia, aimed to evaluate parent’s knowledge and attitudes regarding the emergency management of avulsed permanent and deciduous teeth in children.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 parents recruited from six dental clinics and hospitals in Makkah and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire that assesses the level of knowledge for managing deciduous and permanent avulsed teeth.

Results:

The total score for correct answers about managing permanent avulsed teeth had a mean of 4.77 and a standard deviation of 2.14 (out of 10 questions). With a permanent avulsed tooth, 35.37% were aware of dental reimplanting, 27.7% identified milk as an appropriate medium, and 57.5% would seek professional help immediately after dental trauma. Females and participants with a bachelor’s or higher degree had significantly higher levels of knowledge than males and participants with a high school or lower education. There were 28.5% of respondents who had a previous history of dental trauma for a child. A total of 62.1% knew that there is a difference in managing deciduous versus permanent teeth, but only 40.7% knew the proper management for deciduous avulsed teeth. Previous history of child dental avulsion was not found to be associated with more knowledge on managing avulsed deciduous or permanent teeth.

Conclusion:

Parents in the western region of Saudi Arabia have inadequate levels of knowledge to manage deciduous and permanent tooth avulsion. More efforts should be applied for conducting promotional health campaigns aimed at improving parents’ knowledge.