Prevalence of traumatic dental injuries to the anterior teeth among three to thirteen-year-old school children of Tamilnadu

CONTEXT: Dental trauma has become an important attribute of dental public health. The primary requisite before actively dealing with such problems is to describe the extent, distribution, and associated variables with the specific condition. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) to anterior teeth among 3 to 13 years old Chidambaram school children. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected through a survey form and clinical examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 3200 school children in the age group of 3-13 years were selected from 10 schools of Chidambaram, Tamilnadu. Information concerning sex, age, cause of trauma, number of injured teeth, type of the teeth, lip competence, terminal plane relationship and the molar relationship were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The statistical software EPIINFO (Version 6.0) was used for statistical analysis. In the present study, P≤0.05 was considered as the level of significance. RESULTS: The trauma prevalence in the present study was 10.13%. Children with class I type 2 and mesial step molar relationship exhibited more number of dental injuries. Enamel fracture was the most common injury recorded. Only 3.37% of the children had undergone treatment. CONCLUSION: The high level of dental trauma and low percentage of children with trauma seeking treatment stresses the need for increased awareness in Chidambaram population.