Knowledge on Pre-Hospital Emergency Management of Tooth Avulsion among Croatian Students of the Faculty of Education

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Sep 30;17(19):7159. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197159.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge regarding tooth avulsion and dental first aid response among Croatian students of the Faculty of Education. A cross-sectional study was conducted among students. Participants (N = 235) were female with an average age of 21.9 ± 2.7 years. The questionnaire contained 10 close-ended questions with two to eleven possible answers. Every participant chose one correct answer. Statistical significance was determined using a Chi-square test. Majority of participants had never received any kind of information on management of a knocked-out tooth. Questions in the nature of tooth injuries, a knocked-out tooth, tooth replantation and whether the knocked-out tooth should be placed back were answered confirmatively by 40.43%, 83.40%, 57.02% and 62.55% of participants, respectively. The questionnaire showed that 18.78% of participants were aware that replantation should be performed within 30 min. The appropriate cleaning and transport medium was chosen by 40.85% and 35.31% of participants, respectively. A nearby dentist would be visited by 66.38% of students. Only 8.08% of participants provided a correct answer to all of the knowledge-based questions. The "I do not know" answer was chosen by 18.30% of participants whenever it was offered. This indicates that the majority (89.78%) were not aware of the fact that the procedure they chose would be inappropriate. The current study confirmed that future primary school teachers have a lack of knowledge for immediate response to tooth avulsion, leaving small chances for a successful prognosis of tooth replantation.

Keywords: dental trauma; knocked-out tooth; questionnaire; tooth injuries.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Emergency Medical Services*
  • Faculty
  • Female
  • Health Education, Dental
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Students
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Tooth Avulsion* / therapy
  • Tooth Injuries*
  • Young Adult