Informative promotional outcome on school teachers' knowledge about emergency management of dental trauma.
OBJECTIVE
To assess awareness of school teachers concerning the emergency management of traumatized teeth.


METHODS
This is a prospective intervention study conducted with 1000 teachers (500 urban, 500 rural) randomly selected from the entire government and private, primary (elementary) as well as secondary (high) schools of Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Study was carried out in three phases; the first phase being an initial survey conducted to assess the existing knowledge of teachers on management of traumatic injuries by using self-administered questionnaire. This was followed by a comprehensive informative promotion regarding the initial management of the traumatic dental injuries for the teachers. A post-promotion follow-up review was conducted 3 months later to evaluate the effect of the informative promotion, using the same set of questionnaires. Study was completed over a period of 9 months.


METHODS
Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 14.0, and Chi-square test was used to compare the knowledge of teachers prior to and after the informative promotion. The level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05.


RESULTS
The teachers' overall knowledge with respect to the emergency management of the traumatic injuries was deficient and significant differences were found in the knowledge of teachers before and after the informative promotion.


CONCLUSIONS
Informative promotion programs to improve the knowledge and awareness of this group of community, who are generally the first line of assistance in case of dental trauma in schools, are mandatory.
Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Chada
C
Pujita
Sivakumar
S
Nuvvula
G
G
Shilpa
Svsg
S
Nirmala
V
V
Yamini
Avulsion; emergency management; fractured teeth; informative promotion; mobile teeth; school teachers; soft tissue injuries