A prospective study of dentoalveolar trauma at the Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo University Medical School.

PURPOSE This prospective study evaluated the profile of patients with dentoalveolar trauma assisted at the emergency room of the Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma and Surgery Service at the Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo University Medical School (Brazil). METHODS A prospective study by a questionnaire applied during the first attendance of those patients, in a period of eight months. RESULTS The collected data were statistically analyzed. It was observed that 4.7% of the patients that sought treatment at the Service had sustained dentoalveolar trauma and among these 74% were male. The most affected individuals were children aged 0 to 5 years and fall was the most prevalent etiologic factor. Avulsion and coronal/crown-root fractures were the most common types of dentoalveolar traumatic injures. As the age increases, the most common etiologic factors are traffic accidents and physical assault. CONCLUSION The incidence of dentoalveolar trauma decreased with age and the main etiologic factors in adult patients were traffic accidents and physical assault.