Dentists' knowledge of dental trauma based on the International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines: A survey in South Brazil.

Abstract

Dental trauma is a public health issue with a high prevalence in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge of dentists in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, of the management of traumatic dental injuries, using the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT) Guidelines as a reference. An electronic questionnaire investigating personal and professional characteristics and 12 questions about dento-alveolar trauma, was sent to all registered dentists of the Regional Council of Dentistry of Rio Grande do Sul (n=14753). The respondents were grouped according to the sociodemographic and professional profiles and the data were evaluated by the Student-T test or one-way ANOVA, with Tukey's post-hoc, with α=5%. A total of 1414 dentists responded to the survey (9.59% response rate). The overall mean self-reported knowledge of dental trauma was 5.87±1.57, of a maximum possible score of 12. Some factors associated with a higher knowledge of the IADT guidelines were: female gender, previous clinical experience, years from qualification, self-reported knowledge, and academic postgraduate degree. Dentists who are specialized in endodontics (6.58±1.63) and pediatric dentistry (6.05±1.44) achieved higher levels of knowledge on dental trauma. Analysis of the characteristics (gender, location, and proportion of specialists) of the respondents confirmed that they were representative of the target population. The overall level of knowledge of dentists from Rio Grande do Sul of the IADT guidelines is moderate. These results highlight the need for continuing education on dento-alveolar trauma in this population.