Dental trauma management awareness among primary school teachers in the Emirate of Ajman, United Arab Emirates.

AIM

To assess, by means of self-administered structured questionnaire, the level of knowledge of primary schools teachers in Ajman with regards to the immediate emergency management of dental trauma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The questionnaire was sent to teachers in randomly selected primary schools in Ajman. A total of 161 teachers responded (response rate 84.4%). The questionnaire surveyed teachers' background, knowledge and management of tooth fracture, avulsion, and also investigated teachers' attitudes and self-assessed knowledge.

RESULTS

Ninety-one percent of the teachers were females, 51.6% in their thirties and 61.5% had university qualification. Fifty teachers had received formal first aid training, and only thirteen of them recalled that they had received training on the management of dental trauma. Concerning the management of tooth fracture, 138 respondents (85.8%) gave the appropriate management for fractured tooth. One hundred twenty-one (75%) of the respondents indicated that is very urgent to seek professional assistance if a permanent tooth is avulsed, but they had little knowledge on the correct media for transporting the avulsed tooth. Most teaches were unsatisfied with their level of knowledge for dental trauma and the majority were interested in having further education on the topic.

CONCLUSION

The findings revealed that the level of knowledge of management of dental trauma (especially tooth avulsion) among school teachers in Ajman is inadequate, and education campaigns are necessary to improve their emergency management of dental injuries.