Traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth of Nigerian urban public school children

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the prevalence and pattern of occurrence of traumatic anterior dental injuries in the 6 to 12 year olds, attending public schools in the urban city of Enugu, South – Eastern Nigeria.
Subjects and Methods: A total of 2000 subjects were selected from 8 primary schools in Enugu, through a 2 stage sampling method. Examination was done out of hospital environment.
Results: Traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth occurred in 11.6% (Females, 4.9%; males, 6.7%) of the studied population. The injuries were seen most frequently in the 6 years olds (25.9%). Falls (78.4%) and luxation/enamel fracture (31.9%) accounted for the majority of the injuries. Upper jaw (86.6%) and upper central incisors (75.5%) suffered traumatic anterior injuries most often.
Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, traumatic dental injuries were fairly common and it is suggested that preventive programme and early medical attention should be adopted by clinicians so that complications are prevented or reduced.

Keywords: Traumatic dental injuries, prevalence, primary schools, cross sectional study.

Journal of College of Medicine Vol. 11 (2) 2006: 88-91