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. 2014 Jan 6;9(1):e84406.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084406. eCollection 2014.

A survey on Hong Kong secondary school students' knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma

Cecilia Young  1 , Kin Yau Wong  2 , Lim K Cheung  3
Affiliations

A survey on Hong Kong secondary school students' knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma

Cecilia Young et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate Hong Kong secondary school students' knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma.

Method: A questionnaire survey on randomly selected secondary school students using cluster sampling.

Results: Only 36.6% (209/571) of the respondents were able to correctly identify the appropriate place for treatment of dental injury. 55.2% of the respondents knew the suitable time for treatment. Only 24.7% of the respondents possessed the knowledge of how to correctly manage fractured teeth. Only 23.6% of them knew how to manage displaced teeth. 62.5% of them correctly answered that knocked-out deciduous teeth should not be replanted to the original position, but few of them (23.6%) knew that permanent teeth should be replanted. Moreover, 37.1% of the respondents correctly identified at least one of the appropriate media for storing a knocked-out tooth. First-aid training and acquisition of dental injury information from other sources were significant factors that positive responses from these questions would lead to higher scores.

Conclusion: Hong Kong secondary school students' knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma is considered insufficient. An educational campaign in secondary schools dedicated to students is recommended. Prior first-aid training and acquisition of dental injury information from other sources positively relate to the level of knowledge. Dental trauma emergency management is recommended to be added to first-aid publications and be taught to students and health professionals.

Trial registration: Hong Kong Clinical Trial Centre HKCTR-1344.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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