Knowledge of emergency management of avulsed tooth among Japanese dental students

BACKGROUND: The management of the avulsion of deciduous and permanent teeth in children is well outlined in the guidelines of the International Association of Dental Traumatology and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. However, little information is available about the level of knowledge in the management of dental trauma among undergraduate dental students in Japan. The objective of this study is to explore dental students’ level of educational knowledge in the management of avulsed teeth. METHODS: A three-part questionnaire was used to gather demographic data and evaluate the knowledge of students at Kyushu Dental University. RESULTS: Questionnaire data were collected from 121 (53 first-year, 68 sixth-year) students. Regarding the immediate emergency management of a case in which a 9-year-old girl had fallen down the stairs and lost a maxillary incisor but remained conscious, 55.9% of sixth year students and 28.3% of first-year students suggested the immediate transportation of the tooth to a dentist. The answer selected by the largest number (50.9%) of first-year respondents was “sideline the injured girl and get her to bite on a tissue paper for several hours”. In a case in which a boy had an avulsed tooth after falling down on a road, only 13.2% of first-year students suggested the transportation of the tooth in his mouth to the clinic. Most the largest number of respondents believed that the best way to transport an avulsed tooth to the dental clinic was to “wrap it in dry tissue paper”. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that education in first aid for accidents that occur outside dental clinics or hospitals is insufficient. Japanese dentists and dental educations must immediately improve the utilization of the guidelines for dental trauma and the education of undergraduate students and patients in the management of dental trauma using an integrated approach.