Recent developments in dental traumatology.

Most pediatric dentists provide clinical and after-hours care for dental injuries in their private offices, clinics and hospitals. They are trained and capable to perform the surgery, fracture reduction, splinting and single root endodontic treatment that are part and parcel of dental trauma management. However, for many clinicians, specialists included, dental trauma cases present infrequently and unexpectedly, with diagnosis and management continually evolving with advances in scientific information. Treatment that was current the last time they treated an injury may be out of date the next time clinicians are presented with similar cases. Trauma research is scattered among specialty-specific journals that focus on pediatric dentistry, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, sports medicine and even periodontics. One trauma-specific journal, Endodontics and Dental Traumatology was renamed Dental Traumatology in January 2001 to reflect the multidisciplinary nature of dental trauma research and to encourage contributions from a broader range of specialties. This update is based on a number of developments in traumatology over the past five to seven years but is focused on trends. Unfortunately, trauma research is concentrated in only a few centers and they are mainly outside the United States. Editorial calls to action for dental trauma research seem to be hampered by overworked front-line clinicians or scarce resources.