Evaluation of Parental Awareness on Emergency Management of Traumatic Dental Injuires: The role of the ToothSOS Application.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are the most common cause of emergency dental treatment among children. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the ToothSOS application on the awareness regarding TDI emergency management among parents of children with a history of TDI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out by administering questionnaires to parents who visited the clinic between April 2023 and April 2024 due to TDIs in their children. The questionnaire was divided into five sections. The final section of the questionnaire was delivered at three different periods: before downloading the ToothSOS application (T0), after reviewing the application (T1), and 1-month post-download (T2). The data were analyzed using Friedman, Bonferroni, and multivariate linear regression tests.

RESULTS

Over half of the participants (59.4%) were aged between 36 and 45 years, 60.9% were female, and 44.5% were high school graduates. At baseline, 96.1% of the participants had no prior knowledge about TDIs and were unaware of the ToothSOS application. Based on the participants' knowledge levels, at T0, 97.7% were deemed inadequate-low. At T1, 92.2% were adequate-high, and 7.8% acceptable-moderate. At T2, 39.8% were inadequate-low, 53.1% acceptable-moderate, and 7% adequate-high. Statistically significant differences were found between the median values of the scores at each period (p < 0.05). The score difference between T0 and T1 was significantly impacted by parents' having a high school education and having two children in the family (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Using the ToothSOS application significantly improved parents' awareness of emergency management for TDIs.