Luxation injuries in primary teeth: a retrospective study in children assisted at an emergency service

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze luxation injuries in children between the ages of 0 and 5 years treated at an emergency service department. A total of 1,703 records, corresponding to a period of 10 years at the Emergency Center of the Baby Clinic at Londrina State University, Brazil, were analyzed. The age, gender, etiologic factors, type of injury, injured teeth, treatment and time interval between injury and treatment were determined for each patient. Of the examined records, 409 patients met the study criteria and included a total of 679 injured teeth. Statistical analyses were carried out using the chi-square test with the level of significance set at 5%. Trauma incidence was higher in boys (57.0%) and in children less than two years of age (40.3%). Falling while walking or running was the most predominant etiologic factor (37.7%), and the most prevalent type of injury was subluxation (32.6%). Luxation injuries decreased with increasing age (p = 0.045). Treatment usually occurred within the first 1-15 days and was significantly associated with the type of trauma (p = 0.041). "Monitor only" was the treatment most frequently observed (74.0%). In conclusion, more luxation injuries were found in younger children, predominantly in boys. Falls resulting from walking or running were the etiologic factor most observed, with subluxation as the most common type of trauma. Treatment usually occurred within the first 15 days after the injury. Despite the severity of these injuries, "monitor only" was the eligible treatment.

Predominant Causes and Types of Orofacial Injury in Children Attending Emergency Department

“…There is a consensus among international studies that boys experience significantly more dental injuries to permanent dentition than girls. [1,13,14] In our study trauma incidence was higher in boys (65.0%)…”

“…Most of the orofacial trauma data available in the literature has been collected retrospectively from cross-sectional studies or from longitudi- nal studies of patient records. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In the current study, the assessment of standardized trauma records with information collected at the time of assistance enables the authors to obtain more reliable data relative to previous retrospective studies in which injuries were only registered if signs and/or symptoms were evident at the time of examination.…”

“…[1,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] In fact, these occurred commonly as children became ambulatory but had not yet developed mature motor skills. [22] The findings of this study show a higher percentage of younger children, especially at the preschool age, with a history of orofacial trauma.…”

“…[1] Dental-related emergencies including orofacial traumas and their dental complications commonly present for management by medical practitioners through hospital Emergency Departments (ED) and consulting rooms. [2] Whereas trauma to the facial bone structures is usually referred to oral and maxillofacial or plastic surgeons, [3] mild to moderate dental trauma and associated dental pain are collectively often not seen to be as important or might be overlooked in the context of other injuries.…”

“…[4][5][6] Over the past three years, a number of studies have reported the types and prevalence of orofacial injuries seen in hospital emergency departments. [1] The information gathered in these studies provides useful descriptions of the common types of traumatic oral injuries that pediatric emergency care providers may encounter. Studies of the incidence, etiology, and distribution of these traumatic injuries provide health care planners with pertinent information to determine what types of emergency services should be available in the emergency department setting.…”