Awareness about emergency management of avulsed tooth among intern dentists—a cross-sectional observational study

Tooth avulsion is a frequently encountered dental emergency. Children are commonly reported group due to frequent sports activities, trauma, accidents and falls. Prompt emergency management is vital for long term success and to avoid morbidity. The study was aimed to assess the understanding of intern dentists about the emergency handling of avulsed teeth cases as mostly they are first responders among health care personnel. In this study a fourteen-item questionnaire with predefined responses was shared as online Google survey form with intern dentists of 5 different dental teaching hospitals of Islamabad, Pakistan. The duration of the study was 6 months (01 March 2022 to 31 August 2022). The questions were intended to collect personal information and to check level of knowledge and awareness about the management of avulsed tooth among the dental interns. The data was analyzed by statistical methods and is presented through tables and descriptive methods. In total, 152 participants completed the shared questionnaire. The vast majority (71%) of them were aware of the initial management of avulsed teeth, 49% were aware of the ideal transport medium for an avulsed tooth, (43%) were aware of the critical time for successful replantation, while (62%) had knowledge of the multiple factors responsible for the outcome of the tooth replantation. For majority of the statements, female participants had better knowledge as compared to their male counterparts. Statistically significant difference was noted for the statement “If you found the knocked-out tooth and it is dirty what will be your initial approach?” with female participants having better knowledge as compared to the male (p value = 0.005). Based on our study results, generally dental interns are well-informed but still lack expected level of awareness regarding the proper management protocol for avulsed tooth. Hence, improvement is needed regarding the effective handling of avulsed teeth cases.

Dental trauma; Emergencies; Tooth avulsion; Tooth injuries

[1] Mazur M, Jedlinski M, Janiszewska-Olszowska J, Ndokaj A, Ardan R, Nardi GM, et al. Knowledge of emergency management of avulsed teeth among italian dentists-questionnaire study and next future perspectives. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18: 706.

[2] Mustafa M. Awareness about management of tooth avulsion among general dental practitioners: a questionnaire based study. Journal of Orthodontics. 2017; 3: 2.

[3] Muzzamil M, Pervez H, Naz I, Raza S. The status of knowledge, attitude and practice towards emergency management of avulsed tooth among dental students: a single center cross-sectional study. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association. 2022; 72: 721–724.

[4] Jadav NM, Abbott PV. Dentists’ knowledge of dental trauma based on the international association of dental traumatology guidelines: an Australian survey. Dental Traumatology. 2022; 38: 374–380.

[5] Al-Khalifa K, AlYousef Y. Awareness of dental trauma management among school teachers in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences. 2022; 10: 49–55.

[6] Tewari N, Jonna I, Mathur VP, Goel S, Ritwik P, Rahul M, et al. Global status of knowledge for the prevention and emergency management of traumatic dental injuries among non-dental healthcare professionals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Injury. 2021; 52: 2025–2037.

[7] Gaffar B, AlHumaid J, Ashraf Nazir M, Alonaizan F. Traumatic dental injuries in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia: factors influencing teachers’ management practices. Dental Traumatology. 2021; 37: 65–72.

[8] Tzanetakis GN, Tzimpoulas N, Markou M, Papanakou SI, Gizani S, Georgopoulou M. Evaluating the knowledge level, attitudes, and therapeutic approaches of Greek dentists for traumatic dental injuries. Dental Traumatology. 2021; 37: 177–187.

[9] Al-Zubair NM. General dentists knowledge about the emergency management of dental avulsion in Yemen. Saudi Journal of Oral Sciences. 2015; 2: 25–29.

[10] Khehra A, Cohenca N, Cehreli ZC, Levin L. The International association of dental traumatology ToothSOS mobile app: a 2-year report. Dental Traumatology. 2021; 37: 145–150.

[11] Marasca B, Ndokaj A, Duś-Ilnicka I, Marasca R, Bossù M, Ottolenghi L, et al. Management of transverse root fractures in dental trauma. Dental and Medical Problems. 2022; 59: 637–645.

[12] Andersson L, Andreasen JO, Day P, Heithersay G, Trope M, DiAngelis AJ, et al. International association of dental traumatology guidelines for the management of traumatic dental injuries: 2. Avulsion of permanent teeth. Dental Traumatology. 2012; 28: 88–96.

[13] Abdullah D, Soo SY, Kanagasingam S. Knowledge of managing avulsed tooth among general dental practitioners in Malaysia. Singapore Dental Journal. 2016; 37: 21–26.

[14] Kumar S, Sajjanar AB, Athulkar M, Sajjanar J, Shewale A, Wasnik M, et al. The status of knowledge related to the emergency management of avulsed tooth amongst the medical practitioners of Nagpur, Central India. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2017; 11: ZC21–ZC24.

[15] Zhang L, Xie J, Chen Y, Deng S, Chen L, Gao Q. Cognition about emergency management of avulsed incisor in children among dentists in Guangdong province. West China Journal of Stomatology. 2023; 41: 323–332. (In Chinese)

[16] Alaslami RA, Elshamy FMM, Maamar EM, Ghazwani YH. Awareness about management of tooth avulsion among dentists in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2018; 6: 1712–1715.

[17] Prathyusha P, Harshini T, Haripriya B, Pramod IJ, Swathi K, Samyuktha CL. Knowledge and awareness regarding avulsion and its immediate treatment in school teachers in Bangalore city (South). Journal of international oral health. 2015; 7: 93–97.