How to Educate the Public about Dental Trauma—A Scoping Review

Abstract

Educating the general population about dental trauma is of public health interest. The aim of this scoping review was to map research on traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) education in the general population and to identify the most relevant methods of knowledge transfer. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science All Databases, reference lists, and grey literature were searched. Articles in English published between 2000 and 2020 were included. A total of 32 articles fulfilled inclusion criteria. The most frequently tested modality was lecture/seminar/workshop. Studies focused mainly on teachers and medical staff as target groups. Post-intervention evaluation showed an increase in knowledge. In long-term follow-up, a decrease in knowledge was found. The effectiveness of different modalities varied. Studies comparing single-modal and multimodal approaches did not confirm the effect of combined methods. Printed materials are a practical mode for laypeople. Lectures should be reserved for professions with high probability of coming into contact with a TDI victim. The Internet can be a promising tool to educate people. Educators have to choose the method of communication most appropriate for the target population. The education should include topics related to dental trauma prevention. Further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of multimodal TDI education.

Validation of an educational comic book to guide conducts in situations of dental trauma

“…This lack of awareness stemmed from a lack of training or access to information on the most appropriate actions. The demographic composition of the target audience of the study corroborates the findings from the existing literature, which highlight the general population's deficiency in understanding the matter addressed 4,12,17 . This alignment is also in line with the frequency of dental trauma incidents within the school environment.…”

“…The demographic composition of the target audience of the study corroborates the findings from the existing literature, which highlight the general population's deficiency in understanding the matter addressed. 4,12,17 This alignment is also in line with the frequency of dental trauma incidents within the school environment. Notably, children spend a substantial amount of time at school, thus rendering it unsurprising that many incidents of dental trauma occur during daily school activities.…”

“…The majority of the research pertaining to educational strategies for initial dental trauma first aid procedures indicates that diverse groups, including teachers, 2,4,7,10,17,18,21,22,43 the general population, 11,15 medical doctors, 4,19 dentists, 9,23,41 and even the comic book validated in this study, have demonstrated its potential as an effective tool on this subject. In addition to achieving commendable scores for content validity and readability, the comic book was favorably received by the target audience, and facilitated enhancing the knowledge of its readers on the subject.…”

“…Despite the study target audience's comprising individuals with advanced education garnered in their professional pursuits, the values attained suggest that the comic book is accessible to individuals with a lesser educational level. Inclusion of this level is desirable, considering that approaches to convey the knowledge of post‐trauma prevention and management should be comprehensible universally 4 …”

“…Inclusion of this level is desirable, considering that approaches to convey the knowledge of post-trauma prevention and management should be comprehensible universally. 4 Among the members of the evaluated target audience, 46.3% reported having witnessed accidents involving dental trauma.…”