title: Patient and parental awareness of the importance of immediate management of traumatised teeth.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess patient and parental awareness of the importance of immediate management of traumatised teeth. A three-part questionnaire comprising questions on demographic data, attitude and knowledge was distributed to patients or accompanying parents who presented to the principal author for treatment in an 8-week period. One hundred and fifty-seven respondents with a mean age of 31.1 years participated in the study. Only 30% of the respondents recalled having had previous experience of dental trauma. The majority of the respondents, especially those with a higher educational background, had a positive attitude, expressing enthusiasm for public education on emergency management of dental trauma (85%). The availability of an emergency service during office hours was known by 71% of the respondents while only 26% were aware of the after-office-hour emergency service. Participants generally had a better concept of management of avulsed teeth (63%) compared to that of fractured teeth (35%). Knowledge on some critical aspects of the handling of avulsed teeth was poor (6%). Using multiple logistic regression analysis, it was found that the respondents' attitude tended to be influenced by their educational background (P = 0.08). In addition, subjects with higher education were more knowledgeable regarding the emergency service available during office hours (P = 0.05) and the concept of management of fractured teeth (P = 0.02). Educational background appeared to influence the level of awareness of the importance of immediate management of traumatised teeth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore. rsdvsl@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sae-Lim
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chulaluk
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014084:Tooth Avulsion / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*