Effect of a single dental health education on the management of permanent avulsed teeth by different groups of professionals

Abstract

Tooth avulsion is the complete displacement of a tooth from its socket due to intentional or non-intentional injuries. Treatment in these cases comprises tooth replantation. This accident is very critical as the success of tooth replantation is directly dependent on several factors, such as extra-alveolar period, storage of the tooth until replantation, type of retention employed, time of endodontic intervention, type of drug prescribed, oral hygiene status as well as general health. This trauma commonly occurs during sports practice, school, and leisure activities. The first measures are critical for the prognosis of the avulsed tooth. Several studies report lack of knowledge of the population, educators, sports professionals, and health professionals in the management of tooth avulsion. This study evaluated the influence of education on different groups of professionals, addressing the knowledge and prevention and emergency management of the avulsed tooth. The study was conducted on five different groups of professionals (elementary school teachers, physical education professionals, bank employees, dental doctors, and pediatricians) from the city of Brasília, DF, Brazil. The professionals attended a lecture and were evaluated by a questionnaire applied twice, before and after the lecture. The results of the 479 returned questionnaires were analyzed. The difference between questionnaires before and after the lecture was statistically analyzed by the Wilcoxon test. There was statistically significant change in the performance of professional groups after information was provided (P < 0.0001). Education is extremely important to favor the knowledge on prevention and emergency management of an avulsed tooth, and may enhance the prognosis of tooth avulsion.