Oral Trauma and Injuries in Dentistry

Study Notes

Trauma in Dentistry

Soft tissue injuries are seen in 28% of patients with oral injuries, often accompanied by dental injuries, while fractures involving the jaw are less common, affecting only 6% of patients.

Consequences of Trauma

Trauma has physical, psychosocial, and economic consequences for the individual, family, and society.

Importance of Complete Treatment

Every pediatric patient should receive complete dental treatment for traumatic dental injuries, but this can be complicated and expensive, requiring participation from specialists in multiple disciplines.
Traumatic dental injuries are often irreversible, requiring lifelong treatment.

Challenges in Treatment Planning

Constructing a complete treatment plan is challenging due to the diversity of evidence-based interventions and reported outcomes in clinical studies.
Outcome reporting bias, where researchers selectively report outcomes that enhance results, can affect the validity of clinical studies.

International Association for Dental Traumatology

The association suggests implementing a standardized trauma management guideline to eliminate diversity and reporting bias, making research findings relevant to patients, clinicians, and policymakers.

Prevalence of Dental Traumatic Injuries

An increasing number of older people retaining their natural teeth may lead to a rise in the prevalence of dental traumatic injuries due to accidental falls in the geriatric population.

Examination in Trauma Cases

Before making a treatment plan, dentists must consider the patient's name, age, gender, address, contact numbers, and other factors, including:
- Symptoms of central nervous system damage
- General health of the patient
- Three W's: when, where, and how the injury occurred
- Previous dental injury history
- Disturbances in the bite
- Tooth reactions to thermal changes or sensitivity to sweet/sour
- Soreness of the teeth during eating or by touching
- Spontaneous pain in the teeth
- Risk of concussion or hemorrhage, including symptoms that may be delayed for minutes to hours

Epidemiological Approach to Dental Traumatology

Traumatic dental injuries are a public dental health problem worldwide, occurring throughout life.
Every trauma is unique, requiring unique diagnosis and treatment.
The International Association of Dental Traumatology reports that one in every two children sustains a dental injury, mostly between the ages of 8 and 12 years.
Rapid and appropriate intervention can lessen the impact of dental trauma from both oral and esthetic standpoints.

Description

Test your knowledge on the prevalence and types of oral injuries, including soft tissue injuries, dental injuries, and jaw fractures, as well as the impact of trauma on individuals and society. Learn about the importance of complete dental treatment for traumatic dental injuries in pediatric patients.