Does dental trauma influence the social judgment and motivation to seek dental treatment by children and adolescents? Development, validation, and application of an instrument for the evaluation of traumatic dental injuries and their consequences

Abstract

Background One's smile clearly plays a significant role in the perception and judgment that others have of one's appearance and personality. Aim We sought to develop and validate a questionnaire related to the social judgment of children and adolescents and to evaluate, through its application, the perceptions and judgment of children and adolescents regarding their view of different traumatic dental injuries and their consequences (TDIs‐Cs) as well as the motivation to seek dental treatment. Design The aspects of acceptability, discriminative properties, internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and construct validity were evaluated in the developed questionnaire. A cross‐sectional study was conducted involving 100 boys and girls aged 10‐15 years. Images of an adolescent male and female were either manipulated or not (control) to create different types of TDI‐C (eg, enamel fracture, enamel and dentin fracture, crown colour change, and tooth loss/avulsion). These images were analysed by the participants, using a previously validated questionnaire with a six‐positive‐point and six‐negative‐point scale, in relation to their social physical and psychosocial characteristics. The data were analysed with the Friedman, Wilcoxon, and Mann‐Whitney tests (P < 0.05). Results The developed questionnaire presented high acceptability, strong discriminative properties, satisfactory internal consistency, and satisfactory test‐retest reliability, but weak construct validity. The presence of TDI‐C had a negative effect on all characteristics evaluated (P < 0.001). Tooth loss had the highest level of rejection. Additionally, the presence of TDI‐C had a greater negative impact on the aspects of ‘starting fights’, ‘being given a nickname’, and ‘being ashamed to smile’ in males than in females (P < 0.05). Children and adolescents with TDI‐C were judged as needing to seek dental treatment (P < 0.001). Conclusion The questionnaire developed showed properties of validity and reliability in its administration in a child and adolescent population. TDIs‐Cs have a negative influence on the social judgment of children and adolescents.

Associations and risk factors for dental trauma: A systematic review of systematic reviews

“…Previous studies have reported that TDI occurrence, especially in anterior teeth, has consequences that may impact the aesthetics, 32 quality of life, 33,34 psychosocial behaviours 32 and social reception 8 of children and/or adolescents, and the treatment of TDI is necessary to minimize some of these negative impacts 35 . Once a tooth has been traumatized, local sequelae may occur immediately or over the months or years thereafter, 6,36 leading to the requirement of years of follow‐up after a dental trauma treatment, resulting in further direct and indirect costs 37 .…”

“…Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are considered a public health problem due to their high prevalence 5 and physical, 6 physiological, 7 social 8 and economic consequences 7 . In addition, TDIs can have a negative impact on the quality of life of children and adolescents 9 .…”

Aesthetic perceptions and social judgments about different enamel opacities

“…During their analyses, the adolescents could not use a magnifying glass or any other tool that could modify the design. 16 The adolescents were also not allowed to return to previous images to make comparisons or alter their initial responses ,16 Questionnaire A perception survey was carried out using a questionnaire for individuals between 10 and 15 years old. 16 This instrument was composed of 12 questions (Table 1) that identified the perceptions of different dental consequences and their influence on social judgments (positive or negative).…”

“…15 Malocclusions, dental traumas and dental enamel disturbances may be judged negatively not just by the individual who has them, but also and even more by others. 16,17 Enamel defects have been widely discussed, mainly in terms of color and loss of structure. These defects may affect an individual's social life and self-esteem.…”

Xenon Anesthesia in Pediatric Dental Interventions

“…Стоматологическое вмешательство у детей, особенно младшего возраста, является психотравмирующими фактором, который может иметь длительные негативные последствия на развивающуюся психику ребенка с неблагоприятными эффектами в отдаленные периоды его жизни [1]. Для предупреждения и уменьшения психоэмоциональной травмы ребенка стоматологические вмешательства в большинстве случаев в младшем возрасте проводятся в условиях общей анестезии или седации с использованием различных анестетиков, среди которых наиболее часто применяются ингаляционные препараты [2].…”