General dental practitioners and management of traumatic dental injuries in children

General dental practitioners and management of traumatic dental injuries in children Dr. Seraj, B.* - Dr. Shahrabi, M.* - Dr. Bijani, M.** - Dr. Haeri Mehrizi, A.A.*** *Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Dept., Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University / Medical Sciences. **Dentist. ***Statistician. Abstract Background & Aim: Usually, traumatic dental injuries are considered a bad experience to children. It is important to treat these conditions as soon as possible. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of general dentists practicing in Tehran regarding the management of such injuries. Materials & Methods: This cross sectional survey was carried out in Tehran. A total of 165 general private dentists were included in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect information from the study participants. The SPSS statistical software package (Version 11.5) and Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis, Independent sample t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for statistical analyses. Results: Knowledge of dentists regarding traumatic injuries to children’s teeth was %64 and the amount of their Knowledge had inverse relation with their age and direct relationship with the time of graduation from dental school. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, general dentists practicing in Tehran have relatively adequate knowledge of dental trauma. However, it is necessity to further expand their knowledge through continuing medical educations. Key words: Child dental injuries – Trauma – Knowledge - General dentists. Corresponding Author: Pediatrics Dept., Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University / Medical Sciences. e.mail:[email protected]