Traumatic dental injury among 12‐year‐old South Brazilian schoolchildren: prevalence, severity, and risk indicators

Abstract

– An increasing prevalence of traumatic dental injury (TDI) has been reported in the last few decades. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of TDI and its association with socio‐demographics and physical characteristics in the anterior permanent teeth of 12‐year‐old Brazilian schoolchildren. A cross‐sectional study was carried out in a population‐based sample of 1528 subjects attending 33 public and nine private schools (response rate of 83.17%). A single calibrated examiner performed the clinical examinations at the schools and recorded the TDI index (Children’s Dental Health Survey criteria), overjet and lip coverage. Height and weight were measured to calculate the body mass index (BMI). Parents/legal guardians answered a questionnaire containing socio‐demographic questions. The relationships among TDI, socio‐demographic variables and physical characteristics were assessed by survey Poisson regression models. The prevalence of TDI was 34.79% (mild trauma = 24.37%; severe trauma = 10.43%). Male schoolchildren (RR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.23–1.61, P = 0.002) and schoolchildren from low socioeconomic status (RR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.07–1.64, P = 0.021) were more likely to present at least one tooth with TDI, whereas students attending 7th grade (advanced students) were less likely to experience TDI (RR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.43–0.82, P = 0.012). Regarding the severity analysis, students of mid‐high (RR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.09–1.94, P = 0.022), mid‐low (RR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.01–2.77, P = 0.045) and low (RR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.11–2.85, P = 0.027) socioeconomic status were more likely to have mild trauma when compared with schoolchildren of high socioeconomic status. No significant association between severe trauma and socioeconomic status was observed. In conclusion, this study showed a high prevalence of TDI in 12‐year‐old Brazilian schoolchildren. Socio‐demographic data and school achievement were associated with TDI.

Dental trauma in contact sports

“…The dental traumas observed were found to occur predominantly in only one tooth (n = 12), in agreement with the literature 1,11,13,15,18,20 .…”

“…Many of the other studies also support the relationship between both risk factors and the presence of dental trauma [11][12][15][16] . Others mention that a relationship was not found or was not statistically significant in both cases 1,18 . The study by Çetinbas et al 14 additionally tells us that there is a statistically significant relationship with respect to the overjet risk factor but not in the case of inadequate lip coverage; the results of this study support this finding, as a relationship between risk factors and the occurrence of trauma was found, particularly with regards to excess overjet.…”

“…It was 38.3% (n = 23), which translates into a high prevalence. Various studies present wide-ranging values, from 4.15% to 44.2% 1,11,13,[15][16][17][18][19][20] . This rate varies considerably between studies, since the methodology employed in each differs significantly.…”

“…The majority of traumatic dental lesions occurred in the maxillary central incisors (primary and permanent) 1,[11][12][13][14][15][18][19][20][27][28] . However, the primary teeth, specifically the primary maxillary central incisors (right or left), were the most affected by trauma.…”

Consumo de drogas ilícitas como fator de risco para traumatismo dentário em adolescentes

“…Há uma grande variação entre os valores de prevalência observados em diversas regiões do mundo 21 , refletindo uma diversidade metodológica, seja nos critérios diagnósticos adotados, faixa etária da população estudada, diferenças culturais ou comportamentais. Este estudo apresentou valores semelhantes a outros trabalhos nacionais 22,23 , cuja metodologia e idade dos adolescentes foram similares.…”