Prevalence Of Traumatic Dental Injuries Among Children And Adolescents: A Review Of Literature

Traumatic injuries to the teeth may occur throughout life but are particularly common in children and adolescents since they are engaged in various activities like sports, bicycle riding, fighting with siblings or friends etc. Dental trauma is stressful to both children and their parents. Trauma to anterior teeth in children may adversely affect aesthetics thus having not only functional but psychological effects as well. Researchers have also found that dental problems can negatively affect academic achievement and learning in children. [1] Moreover the cost of dental treatment is also high adding to the financial burden on families. Thus traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) have become an important public health problem and it becomes the role of health professionals to evaluate various predisposing factors related to dental trauma so as to prevent its occurrence. Previous studies have reported that increased overjet, protruded maxillary incisors and incompetent lips are associated with increase in the occurrence of TDIs. Literature shows that wide variation exists in the prevalence of TDIs in different parts of the world. This article reviews various prevalence studies of dental trauma and also highlights the associated risk factors investigated by researchers in different parts of the world.