School Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes about the Emergency Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE

The emergency management of traumatized teeth is critical to their long-term outcomes. In school-aged children, most traumatic dental injuries (TDI) occur at school and teachers are often required to manage dental trauma (DT) emergencies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine teachers' knowledge and attitudes about TDI.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Survey in 147 randomly selected schools in 53 cities in Turkey. A questionnaire enquiring about demographic data, knowledge of DT, and knowledge of first aid related to DT was distributed to primary school teachers.

RESULTS

1,634 completed questionnaires were returned (65% response rate). 92.5% of the teachers were not satisfied with their DT knowledge, and almost all (97.8%) had never received DT training, although 28.1% had witnessed at least one case of DT. In the case of tooth avulsion, 26.4% believed that an avulsed tooth would be permanently lost, whereas 28.9% knew that a permanent tooth could be replanted.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowledge of emergency management of TDI among schoolteachers in Turkey is inadequate, and training on their emergency management should be provided.