title: Dental trauma: knowledge and attitudes of community health workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The international literature emphasizes the importance of evaluating the knowledge of different groups such as teachers, students, dentists, physicians, parents, and athletes regarding dental injuries. In Brazil, community health workers are professionals who can reach a wide variety of people and who have a marked influence on prevention and health promotion strategies. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of community health workers regarding dental trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire consisting of 19 questions divided into 3 parts was applied: demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitudes. Data from 206 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 28% of the participants reported to have been called to assist individuals with dental trauma. Only 42 subjects had received education on dental injuries, with 34 of them being instructed by a dentist. In cases of tooth avulsion, only 1.9% of the health workers reported that they would search for the tooth and reimplant it. The most frequently indicated storage media for avulsed teeth were nonphysiological media (69.42%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The educational level of the community health workers somehow influenced their knowledge (P < 0.001) and attitude (P = 0.016) regarding dental injuries. Educational programs for this group are needed to improve the management of traumatic dental injuries.
authors.affiliation: From the Divisions of *Oral Radiology, †Oral Surgery, ‡Stomatology and Oral Surgery, and §Oral Pathology, Department of Clinical Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fábio Wildson Gurgel
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Elaine Helena
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Marcelo Ferraro
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Alexandre Simões
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Eduardo Costa Studart
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Karuza Maria Alves
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001938:Brazil; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003815:Dentists; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014084:Tooth Avulsion / Q000628:therapy; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000628:therapy; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D014090:Tooth Replantation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions