Relationship Between Smartphone Use and Traumatic Tooth Fractures in Korean Adolescents

Abstract

Background: With the increasing rate of smartphone use among adolescents, smartphone addiction has become a social issue, causing reduced attention. This may make adolescents more susceptible to traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). Aim: To assess the association between smartphone use and TDIs among Korean adolescents. Design: This study used open-source data from the 2023 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This study included responses from 52 875 Korean adolescents. Information on demographics, weekly smartphone use, weekly exercise days, and tooth fracture experiences in the past year was collected and analyzed. Results: The mean smartphone use per week was 2146.91 ± 1276.60 min in all participants, and the frequency of tooth fractures was 9.3% in extremely low users, 10.1% in low users, 11.1% in excessive users, and 13.6% in extremely excessive users. Logistic regression analysis revealed that higher smartphone usage time correlated with a greater risk of tooth fracture by increasing odd ratios for low, excessive, and extremely excessive users compared to excessively low users. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, increased smartphone use was associated with higher rates of tooth fracture in Korean adolescents. This finding suggests the potential role of smartphone use in contributing to TDIs.