Dental Trauma Epidemiology in Primary Dentition: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study

Abstract

Our aim was to investigate the epidemiology of dental trauma (DT) injuries in primary teeth, a health hazard issue that is often neglected by the public health care system. The records of 298 children who attended the Unit of Dental Care for Special Needs Patients and Pediatric Dentistry, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy and had suffered a DT between January 2011 and December 2021 were examined to assess age, gender, cause and place of the DT, type of lesion and teeth involved. The chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables. A total of 265 children (89%) suffered a single trauma, and 33 (11%) suffered from repeated DT. A total of 511 teeth (mean 1.7 ± 0.5) experienced dental trauma. Most of the trauma occurred in the 2–3 years range (153 DT, 30%). The most affected teeth were the upper central incisors (n = 388; 76%). The DT involved periodontal tissue in 316 teeth (62%) and hard dental tissue in 262 cases (51%). DT in primary teeth is commonly caused by accidental falls at home, occurs most frequently to toddlers’ upper central incisors, and usually affects tooth-supporting structures. Clinicians should be aware of the most frequent DT and be updated concerning treatment guidelines.