Anterior dental trauma treated after‐hours in Newcastle, Australia

Abstract

This study investigated the occurrence, causes and types of anterior dental trauma treated outside normal clinic and practice hours in Newcastle, Australia. During a 2 1/2-yr period, 233 patients presented for treatment of traumatic injuries to anterior teeth on week nights, weekends and public holidays. The highest occurrence of trauma was in the 18 to 23 yr group (24.9%), followed by the 6 to 11 (23.6%) and the 12 to 17 (22.3%) yr groups. Men sustained injuries more frequently than women in all age groups. The male/female ratio was 2.6:1. The four main causes of trauma were falls (26.6%), sports (18.0%), bicycle accidents (14.2%) and assaults or fights (13.3%). The 233 patients sustained 488 injuries to 95 primary and 373 permanent teeth (n = 468). Maxillary central incisors were the most frequently injured teeth. The mean number of teeth injured per patient was 2.01. Luxation (46.9%) was the most common injury in the primary dentition. In the permanent dentition, crown fractures without pulp exposures (25.0%), followed by luxation (23.5%), were the most common injuries. Avulsion represented 11.5% of all injuries. The findings of this study indicate that anterior dental trauma treated after-hours may be more severe, involve more teeth and affect predominantly older age groups than traumatic injuries treated during normal hours.

A Survey of Dental and Oral Trauma in South‐East Queensland During 1998

“…[1][2][3][4] These sub-populations represent a small portion of the general Australian population. Davis and Knott 5 in 1984 studied patients presenting with dental trauma to members of the Australian Society of Endodontology, Australia-wide.…”

Dental Injuries in Association With Facial Fractures

“…[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Avulsions were mostly observed in the maxilla, as found in other studies. [17][18][19][20][21][22] Lateral dislocations were found in the anterior segments of both jaws. This is in contrast to other studies, where lateral tooth dislocations primarily involved the maxillary front region.…”

Dental trauma in an Australian rural centre

“…Costs to the injured person and to the community can be substantial (1). Currently, there is a paucity of epidemiological data in the field of dental trauma in Australia and the limited information available has mainly focused on specific sub‐populations (1–6). Internationally, research in dental trauma has been more substantial (7–20), but its applicability and relevance to Australia can be questioned.…”