What do polish parents know about dental trauma and its management in children’s treatment? A questionnaire study

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge of Polish parents concerning traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) and their management in children and to assess the influence of TDI experience on parents’ knowledge.

Methods: A questionnaire study conducted from May 2014 to February 2015 involved 741 randomly selected individual parents of children aged 1–17 receiving treatment at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Medical University of Warsaw. The questionnaire consisted of 28 questions concerning TDI management.

Results: The study included 600 questionnaires subjected to statistical analysis using a χ² independence test and Spearman’s rank correlation (p < .05). Results show that 68% of parents have never received information about TDI management. As many as 80.5% were unaware of the possibility of immediate replantation of an avulsed tooth; over 60% would not be capable of choosing a suitable transport medium for such a tooth. Over 12% of TDI-experienced parents were unaware of a suitable transport medium for an avulsed tooth. Three times as many inexperienced parents as parents with TDI experience would place an avulsed tooth in saline solution. The independence test presented a strong correlation between parents’ education and their knowledge about TDI management. As many as 80% of parents assessed their knowledge about TDI as inadequate.

Conclusions: It appears necessary to introduce programmes for parents to raise their level of awareness concerning this topic.