A retrospective study on traumatic dental and soft-tissue injuries in preschool children in Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze data according to gender, age, cause, number of traumatized teeth, time elapsed before treatment and type of tooth from the records of traumatized children. A retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the University Dental Clinic in Zagreb, Croatia using the documentation of 128 patients (61 males and 67 females) aged 1 month to 6 years with injuries of primary teeth between February 2009 and January 2013. Trauma was seen in 217 primary teeth, which implies that the number of injured primary teeth was 1.69 per child. The maxillary central incisors were the most frequently affected teeth (81.1%), they were followed by maxillary lateral incisors, while the least affected were mandibular central incisors. Traumatic dental injuries involved periodontal tissue 2.82 times more frequently than hard dental and pulp tissue. The main cause of teeth injury was fall (67.2%) and the majority of injuriesoccurred at home (51.6%) (p<0.05). Of 128 patients who received treatment 71 (55.5%) also had soft-tissue injuries. The distribution of soft-tissue injuries by gender (35 males, 36 females) was not statistically significant. Comparing children with soft-tissue injuries and those without them, a statistically significant difference was found in the time of arrival (p<0.01). The results of this study showed the need of informing about preventive measures against falls at home and the methods of providing first aid in dental trauma injuries.