Prevalence, etiology, and types of dental trauma in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Dental traumas are common among children and adolescents in many societies posing health and social problems. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence, etiology, types, and other epidemiologic aspects of dental trauma in children and adolescents (0-18 years old). METHODS In this systematic meta-analytical review, data were collected searching for key words including traumatic dental injuries, dental trauma, dental injury, dental trauma, tooth injuries, tooth trauma, traumatized teeth, dentoalveolar trauma, oral trauma, epidemiology, etiology, prevalence, incidence, occurrence, child*, and adolescence in the following databases: Scopus, CINAHL, Science Direct, PubMed and Google scholar. RESULTS From the total of 3197 articles, 44 completely relevant papers were included in the study. The prevalence of dental trauma was variable based on geographical area and was estimated 17.5% in the population, with higher prevalence in boys. Falling was the major cause for dental trauma, and the most frequent location was home. The most frequent type of trauma was enamel fracture. CONCLUSION A relatively high prevalence was detected for dental trauma, which calls for effective planning and intervention to prevent the occurrence in children and adolescents. These may include special care for children, eliminating fall-prone areas, installing safety measures at homes, using protective appliances in sports, education, and raising the knowledge and availability of services to address enamel fracture. Region-specific criteria should be taken into account in programs and interventions.