2016 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 470-475
It is common to encounter child patients who have visited a dental clinic for a traumatic dental injury. Treatment options vary widely because of young age, and the need to consider future growth and development. This study sought to establish preventive measures for potential dental trauma cases and improve the clinical acumen among oral healthcare professionals. We analyzed pediatric patients who visited our department for traumatic dental injuries during the 3-year period between April 2012 and March 2015. The following results were obtained.
1.A traumatic dental injury occurred in 381 deciduous teeth of 242 subjects and 178 permanent teeth of 104 subjects, with a slightly higher proportion of boys in both groups.
2.Age at the time of injury ranged from 0 to 17 years, with more incidents occurring from 1-3 years of age in the deciduous tooth group and 7-9 years of age in the permanent tooth group.
3.Most (69.0%) of the affected subjects visited a dental clinic 1 or more days after the day of injury (31.0%). In addition, at least 50% of our patients came to our department after having visiting a local medical or dental clinic first.
4.The most frequent cause of injury in both deciduous and permanent teeth was a fall, while there was a higher incidence of collision in the latter group.
5.The predominant site of injury was the maxillary central incisors in both the deciduous (63.5%) and permanent (75.2%) tooth groups
6.In the deciduous tooth group, 68.5% of the patients had luxation, which most frequently involved displacement/mobility (42.6%). On the other hand, tooth fracture (48.0%) was the most common injury in the permanent tooth group, with involvement seen in the crown most often (43.4%) and in the root least often (4.6%).
