Knowledge of dental trauma first aid (DTFA): the example of avulsed incisors in casualty departments and schools in London

Abstract

Objective To investigate awareness and practices of dental trauma fi rst aid (DTFA) in hospital emergency settings and in primary and secondary schools in London. Design A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Setting Primary and secondary schools and casualty/emergency and walk-in casualty centres in London in 2005. Subjects and methods A randomly selected sample of 125 schools and a total of 31 walk-in casualty centres, providing services for fi ve randomly selected London boroughs. A person responsible for emergency care of children represented each of these study sites. Results Response rates of 81.6% and 87% were achieved for schools and casualty/emergency centres respectively. The school respondents who had previously received advice on DTFA were three times more likely to be willing to replant an avulsed tooth compared to those who had not. A third of casualty personnel showed gaps in knowledge in DTFA. Results from schools showed an unwillingness to start emergency action mainly due to perceived inadequacy in knowledge/skills and also for legal reasons. Conclusion There is the need for further studies focused on the barriers resulting in unwillingness to provide DTFA among school personnel and clarifi cation regarding issues of responsibility and acceptable levels of competence of professionals other than dentists.

Knowledge and Sociodemographic Determinants of Emergency Management of Dental Avulsion among Parents in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The percentage of participants who recommended immediately replanting an avulsed permanent tooth (29.2%) was lower than the 74.1% reported from a study in England [15]. This difference could be due to the participants included in the study by Addo et al [15] being personnel working at emergency clinics, and therefore having a higher knowledge than the general population surveyed from Kuwait.…”

“…This is unfortunate because prompt and appropriate management at the site of the injury could significantly alleviate the distress and improve the prognosis of an avulsed permanent tooth [14]. The percentage of participants who recommended immediately replanting an avulsed permanent tooth (29.2%) was lower than the 74.1% reported from a study in England [15]. This difference could be due to the participants included in the study by Addo et al [15] being personnel working at emergency clinics, and therefore having a higher knowledge than the general population surveyed from Kuwait.…”

“…A list of potential items was constructed based on a literature review of previously used questionnaires relating to the same topic [1,4,[9][10][11][12][13][15][16][17]. The included items, namely the replantation and proper handling of an avulsed permanent tooth, cleaning and transport media, and seeking professional help, were evaluated for their relevance to the study objectives by reviewing the current guidelines for first aid management of avulsed permanent teeth [7].…”

Understanding school teacher’s knowledge regarding dental trauma: a basis for future interventions

“…Such training must be offered frequently enough to reinforce and retain the knowledge acquired (31). This approach must include visual resources of trauma situations in order to provide a better understanding and higher retention of information, so that the teachers can become more sensitive and better prepared to adequately manage emergency situations, changing their behaviour.…”

Emergency management of traumatic dental injuries in 42 countries

“…A few countries have taken dental trauma as serious as any other medical emergencies by assigning an organized national emergency dental service and conducting awareness campaigns to provide immediate advice at the place of the accident . Others aimed to enhance the knowledge of laypeople through media and out‐reach dental education programmes to prepare them to handle such responsibility (http://www.iadt-dentaltrauma.org/for-patients.html). Recently, a first aid application for handheld devices such as smart phones aimed for dental emergencies for the public has been launched.…”