A Prevalence of Untreated trauma to Anterior Permanent Teeth in 10-14 Year Old School Children in Benin-City

Abstract

Objective: Traumatic dental injuries to the anterior permanent teeth are a common reason for dental clinic visits. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of untreated traumatic dental injuries, aetiology and risk factors for these injuries among 10-14 year old primary school children of Egor Local Government Area of Edo state.

Methods: One hundred and forty children who gave verbal assent and returned signed consent forms from parents out of 1016 children from six public primary schools in three randomly selected wards of the LGA constituted the study population. They were examined for fractured, missing due to trauma and discoloured permanent anterior teeth using Ellis and Davey (1970) classification index. Their lip profile and Angle's classification were also assessed. The data was collected via an interviewer administered questionnaire.

Results: The study population had 82 males (58.6%) and 58 females (41.4%). The 11 year old participants constituted the majority (25.75%). The most prevalent traumatic dental injuries were tooth fractures and constituted 47.1% of the total of TDI seen in this study. Ellis class II fractures were the most commonly reported. Males had a higher frequency of involvement when compared with females with a male to female ratio (M:F) of 1.4:1. Falls accounted for 47% of these reported injuries followed by road traffic accidents (14.3%) and assault (12.9%). The upper left central incisor was the commonly injured tooth (45.7%). Most of the participants (81.4%) had competent lip profile and 74.3% of them had Angle's Class I malocclusion. None of the children examined had visited the dental clinic for treatment following injury.

Conclusion: In conclusion, traumatic dental injuries still is a common public health problem. Awareness of treatment of these conditions is still low and oral health education on prevention and treatment of these injuries should be taught in schools.

Keywords: Dental trauma, School children, risk factors