Knowledge and Attitude of Parents/Caretakers toward Management of Avulsed Tooth in Maharashtrian Population: A Questionnaire Method

BACKGROUND: Traumatic injuries to teeth and their supporting structures during childhood are one of the major problems faced by the dentist in day to day practice. Children usually encounter minor accidents in their routine activities and hence, it of utmost importance to provide emergency care to reduce such outcomes. Most of children with dental trauma present late for treatment due to lack of awareness and knowledge among parents/caretakers resulting in unfavorable long-term prognosis. This study was conducted to evaluate by means of a questionnaire, the knowledge, and usual attitude of the parents/caretakers about the management of avulsed tooth in children of age group 5-14 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The questionnaire containing 6 questions was distributed among 200 parents/caretakers who participated in the study. The questions assessed the knowledge and attitude of parents toward avulsed tooth and its management. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.0. RESULTS: A lack of technical information regarding the preservation and management of avulsed tooth was observed among the parents/caretakers. The education status of the study population when associated with the knowledge variables of avulsion showed that most of the variables had statistically significant association with P < 0.04. CONCLUSION: These data reinforce the need to provide the population with some important information regarding the emergency management of avulsed tooth. This warrants the need of effective communication between dental professionals and caretakers for better handling of dental emergencies.