Assessment of Parents’ Knowledge and Attitudes on Emergency Management of Permanent Avulsed Teeth in Western Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: One of the most common dental injuries is dental avulsion. This study, conducted in the western region of Saudi Arabia, aimed to evaluate parent’s knowledge and attitudes regarding the emergency management of avulsed permanent and deciduous teeth in children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 parents recruited from six dental clinics and hospitals in Makkah and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire that assesses the level of knowledge for managing deciduous and permanent avulsed teeth. Results: The total score for correct answers about managing permanent avulsed teeth had a mean of 4.77 and a standard deviation of 2.14 (out of 10 questions). With a permanent avulsed tooth, 35.37% were aware of dental reimplanting, 27.7% identified milk as an appropriate medium, and 57.5% would seek professional help immediately after dental trauma. Females and participants with a bachelor’s or higher degree had significantly higher levels of knowledge than males and participants with a high school or lower education. There were 28.5% of respondents who had a previous history of dental trauma for a child. A total of 62.1% knew that there is a difference in managing deciduous versus permanent teeth, but only 40.7% knew the proper management for deciduous avulsed teeth. Previous history of child dental avulsion was not found to be associated with more knowledge on managing avulsed deciduous or permanent teeth. Conclusion: Parents in the western region of Saudi Arabia have inadequate levels of knowledge to manage deciduous and permanent tooth avulsion. More efforts should be applied for conducting promotional health campaigns aimed at improving parents’ knowledge.