Prevalence and Factors Associated with Traumatic Dental Injuries (TDI) to Anterior Teeth of 11-13 Year Old School Going Children of Maduravoyal, Chennai

Abstract

ABSTRACT The epidemic of general injuries is among the most neglected health problems of the 21st century and the importance of Traumatic Dental injuries (TDI) has attracted little attention. AIM To assess the prevalence and factors associated with anterior teeth traumatic injuries in 11-13 year old school children of Maduravoyal, Chennai. METHODOLOGY Cluster sampling methodology was used for selection of subjects, where each school formed a cluster. All students aged 11-13 years were examined in accordance with the Ellis and Davey classification of traumatic injuries to anterior teeth. Statistical analysis was done by Chi-Square test. RESULTS Among the 687 (M=393, F=294) examined, 11.5% (n=79) experienced TDI. 78.5% (n=62) boys experienced TDI which was approximately thrice as higher as in females being 21.5% (n=17). The most commonly affected teeth were maxillary central incisors. “Fall” was the most common cause for TDI. Most common type of fractures were class I and class II and most of them were untreated. All these findings were statistically highly significant (P< 0.001). CONCLUSION TDI is an existing dental problem and emphasis should be given in school dental health programmes on preventive aspects of TDI.