Knowledge and attitudes of preschool, primary and secondary teachers about dentoalveolar trauma

Abstract

Dentoalveolar trauma is considered the second cause of dental emergencies, with children and adolescents being the most affected. The etiology is related to age: in preschool children, falls are a very common cause of traumatic dental injuries, while in school-age children, injuries are more frequent from sports activities. Dental falls usually happen in academic environments such as school, where the teacher is the main subject to whom ones go for the preliminary attention of this type of event. For such reasons, the knowledge and attitudes possessed by teachers are important, because their actions will determine the prognosis and treatment, especially due to the relationship between the time elapsed and the actions carried out by the dental professional. The objective of this systematic review was to descri-be the existence of knowledge and attitudes of primary and secondary school teachers on the management of dentoalveolar trauma. In the revision we evidence N = 9 publications met the eligibility criteria, using the Pubmed databases, Scielo and Clinical Keys and des-criptors in English and Spanish. It is evident that there is inadequate knowledge, while the teacher’s attitude towards dental trauma in most of the studies was not evaluated.