Federal University of Santa Catarina follow-up management routine for traumatized primary teeth -- part 1

Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify if the follow-up management routine of traumatized primary teeth set up by Federal University of Santa Catarina, which performs clinical and radiographic assessments (15 and 45 days; 4, 8 and 12 months) after the oral trauma, enabled an early diagnosis of sequelae which would indicate the need for endodontic intervention, as well as the influence a type of trauma and the child's age could have in the severity of the sequelae. In this study 52 sets of records were used of patients being seen in the last 6 months, with a total of 70 teeth that were receiving follow-up treatment. Patients returned for regular visits set up by the management routine, where clinical and radiographic examinations were performed to check for sequelae, which justified endodontic intervention. Mobility (51.2%) and crown discoloration (25.6%) were the most common sequelae found in the patient's first appointment. In the follow-up visits, replacement root resorption (22.5%) was the second most common sequela found, suggesting endodontic intervention. No significant association was found between severe sequelae, types of trauma and a child's age (chi(2) = 0.3, P = 0.8613). During the intervals of the follow-up visits, it was noticed that between 46 days and 8 months a higher number of sequelae were diagnosed (P < 0.05). The diagnosis of sequelae such inflammatory and replacement root resorption, which can lead to an early loss of a primary tooth, are frequent and that the interval between the follow-up visits has to be changed, suggesting the setting up of management routine 2. The study also concluded that the type of trauma and the child's age are not fundamental factors in the diagnosis of severe sequelae.