title: Prevalence, Type and Etiology of Dental and Soft Tissue Injuries in Children in Croatia.
abstract: The prevalence, type and etiology of dental and soft tissue injuries and relationship between the time of arrival and sustaining soft tissue injury were analyzed in this retrospective study conducted at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University Dental Clinic in Zagreb, Croatia, during the 2010-2014 period using documentation on 447 patients (264 male and 183 female) aged 1-16 years with injuries of primary and permanent teeth. The highest prevalence of traumatic dental injury (TDI) was found in the 7-12 age group and maxillary central incisors were most frequently affected (80.9%) in both primary and permanent dentitions. Enamel-dentin fracture without pulp exposure (31.9%) was the most common TDI of dental hard tissue in both dentitions, whereas subluxation (27.3%) was the most common periodontal tissue injury type. The most frequent location, cause and seasonal variation of trauma were at home, falling and spring. Soft tissue injuries were observed in 203 (45.4%) patients. Soft tissue injuries were less likely when fewer teeth were traumatized (p<0.001). Comparison of children with and without soft tissue injuries yielded a statistically significant difference in the time to arrival between primary and permanent teeth (p<0.01). Because soft tissue injuries include bleeding and clinical presentation appears more dramatic, the time elapsed between injury and initial treatment was shorter than in non-bleeding injuries, pointing to the need of education focused on parents and school teachers regarding the importance of immediate therapy for both bleeding and non-bleeding TDIs.
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Split, Croatia
authors.forename: Josip
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Škaričić
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Sisak, Croatia
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vuletić
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Department of Dental medicine, Rijeka University Hospital Center, Rijeka, Croatia
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hrvatin
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Zagreb, Hrvatska
authors.forename: Jesenka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeličić
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Čuković-Bagić
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
authors.forename: Hrvoje
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jurić
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017523:Croatia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Tooth, deciduous; Dentition, permanent; Tooth injuries; Soft tissue injuries