Parental knowledge and attitudes regarding emergency management of traumatic dental injuries and associated factors among a Chinese sample: a cross-sectional study

Background: Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) are considered a public health problem worldwide, especially during childhood. This study aimed to investigate parental knowledge and attitude toward TDI emergency management and associated factors among a Chinese sample. Methods: A total of 714 parents of children aged 0–14 years were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire after signing an informed consent according to ethical guidelines. The questionnaire comprised two sections. One section focused on socio-demographic information, and the other was concerned about parental knowledge and attitudes toward TDI emergency management. Results: The study had an 88.2% response rate. Finally, the data of 630 participants were analyzed. Among all the respondents, 39.8% of the parents said they knew nothing about TDI emergency management; 62.9% said they knew where to seek professional help for TDI. Only 74 parents would choose fresh milk as a storage medium for avulsed permanent teeth. The interest in learning more about TDI emergency management was significantly associated with parental gender, educational level and family income. Additionally, both children’s and parents’ previous experience with TDI was strongly correlated with their responses to the question, “Do you know where to seek professional help for dental trauma?”. Parents of children who had previously experienced TDI were more likely to believe that it is possible to reattach a fractured tooth piece due to TDI (p = 0.031). Among the 444 parents who expressed interest in learning more about the emergency management of TDI, the majority (n = 311) preferred to receive the relevant information via the Internet. Conclusions: Parental knowledge regarding TDI emergency management was inadequate. Educational programs, especially online resources, are needed to promote public health education on TDI emergency management in China.

Traumatic dental injuries; Parent; Knowledge; Associated factors

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