Traumatic dental injuries in permanent teeth of children and adolescents: A study based on own material

Abstract

Background. Traumatic injuries of permanent teeth in children aged 6–18 years are caused among other thing by accidental falls, collisions with an object or another person, bicycle and traffic crashes. There are many factors reinforcing their occurrence, including environmental and individual ones. The knowledge of the etiology of traumatic injuries is necessary for developing rules to prevent their occurrence. Objectives. To establish causes and the incidence of traumatic injuries of permanent teeth in children and adolescents and the connection between this type of injury and patients’ sex and age. Material and Methods. A retrospective analysis of 1934 medical records of patients (aged 6–18 years) who attended the Pediatric Dentistry Department WUM in Warsaw in years 2012–2014 was conducted. Cases of traumatic injuries of permanent teeth, patient’s sex, age at the time of injury, the cause and place of the injury, the number and type of injured teeth, the type of teeth and tissue area injuries and co-occurrence of different types of injuries have been recored. χ2 test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient have been applied in order to conduct the statistic analysis. Results. 127 patients (44 girls and 83 boys) have been diagnosed with traumatic injuries of 316 teeth. Their most frequent cause was falling. 29.07% of injuries were associated with sport activities and 3.94% with violence. The most frequent types of injuries are subluxation and uncomplicated enamel-dentin fractures. More than one injury has been diagnosed in 60 teeth. Mandibular central incisors have been damaged most frequently. Conclusions. Boys suffer injuries more frequently than girls. They damage a greater number of teeth and more often these injuries cause crown fractures with denudations of dental pulp. Most injuries occur outside home or school. Usually they are caused accidentally, however the number of teeth injuries caused by beating increases with age.