Knowledge of physical education teachers about emergency management of tooth avulsion

Abstract

A great number of traumatic dental injuries occur at school, during sports-related activities. However, physical education teachers are often not prepared to provide emergency management of dental trauma in general and of tooth avulsion in particular. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of emergency management of tooth avulsion among physical education teachers at public and private schools of a city in southern Brazil. A questionnaire covering personal and professional information and eight multiple-choice questions to assess knowledge of emergency management of tooth avulsion was sent to 217 physical education teachers. Of a total of 217 questionnaires distributed, 102 returned. Only 23.5% of the teachers had received prior information on dental trauma. When asked about the first action to be taken if faced with an avulsed tooth, only 12.7% informed they would attempt to replant the tooth. Fifty two teachers (51%) were not aware of the optimum extraoral time. Significant differences were found between teachers who had and who had not received prior information with regard to adequate transport medium and adequate time for replantation (chi-square, p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively). There is a general lack of knowledge of emergency management of avulsed teeth among physical education teachers, pointing to an urgent need to implement regular, continuing education so as to increase the level of knowledge and improve prognosis of this important traumatic dental injury.