Knowledge of elementary school teachers in Tel-Aviv, Israel, regarding emergency care of dental injuries

Abstract

Background: Immediate management of traumatized teeth is often critical to the prognosis of the teeth. Most of the traumatic dental injuries occur at home, followed by school. There is a high probability that first aid would be given by lay people such as parents, teachers, or coaches. Knowledge of those people regarding emergency management of dental trauma is crucial for better prognosis.

Aim: To investigate: (i) the knowledge of elementary school teachers regarding traumatic dental injuries to permanent teeth and emergency treatment, (ii) their source of information, and (iii) the demand for more education in dental trauma.

Materials and methods: A three-part questionnaire comprised of questions regarding demographic data, attitude, and knowledge about dental injuries was distributed to teachers in 12 elementary schools in the Tel-Aviv area, Israel.

Results: The average knowledge score was 4.59 (in a scale of 0-10). Three individual predictors significantly improved the respondents' knowledge: being in the 35-49-year age group (P-value = 0.042), those who had children themselves (P-value = 0.002) and those who had previous experience with trauma (P-value = 0.049). There was no correlation between the demand for further education in dental trauma and knowledge score.

Conclusions: The knowledge regarding management of traumatic dental injuries in a group of teachers in the Tel-Aviv area is inadequate. Educational programs as well as addition to the curriculum are necessary to improve their emergency management of traumatic dental injuries and provide better protection to the students.