Consumer product-related tooth injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms: United States, 1979-87.

The database of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was used to analyze episodes of consumer product-related traumatic injuries to teeth treated in hospital emergency room in the United States from 1979 through 1987. Results showed a slight but consistent increase in episodes of such injuries during this 9-yr period. Over 75% of such episodes occurred in persons under 15 yr of age. Over 60% of the tooth injuries in such episodes could be crudely classified into the following types by descending rank order: avulsed-, broken-, loosened-, chipped-, intruded-teeth and soft tissue injuries. The most common categories of consumer products and activities associated with such episodes were sports and play, followed by falls on floors, stairs or showers, and bicycles and other wheeled vehicles. The age composition of specific episodes of dental injuries varied considerably for different products and activities, suggesting a need for specific strategies for prevention of episodes of consumer product-related injuries to teeth for different age categories of the population.