A study into dentists' knowledge of the treatment of traumatic injuries to young permanent incisors.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to evaluate dentists' knowledge of the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries to young permanent incisors, and to investigate barriers to treatment.

DESIGN: A closed-ended questionnaire was sent to 1023 general dental practitioners (GDPs) and community dental officers (CDOs) in West/North Yorkshire and Humberside, UK.

METHODS: The questionnaire comprised 17 questions. Six questions asked for general information about the participants (i.e. profession, age, gender, year of graduation, training or education on dental trauma, and willingness to provide emergency care), 10 were relevant to the emergency treatment of crown fractures, root fractures, luxation and avulsion injuries, and the last question queried any perceived barriers to treatment. Results. Seven hundred and twenty-four questionnaires were returned, a response rate of 71%, and these indicated that dentists' knowledge of the emergency treatment of dentoalveolar trauma in children was inadequate. The CDOs were significantly more knowledgeable than the GDPs, as were younger and more recently graduated dentists compared with older ones. The GDPs regarded the difficulty of treating children and the inadequate fees of the UK National Health Service as important barriers to treatment. Dentists who attended continuing dental education courses on dental traumatology had a more thorough knowledge than those who did not.

CONCLUSION: Overall, the dentists' knowledge of the emergency treatment of dentoalveolar trauma in children was inadequate. Greater emphasis on undergraduate and postgraduate education in this area is indicated.