Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

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

References

    1. Andreasen JO, Andreasen FM, Skeie A, Hjørting-Hansen E, Schwartz O (2002) Effect of treatment delay upon pulp and periodontal healing of traumatic dental injuries — a review article. Dent Traumatol 18: 116–128. - PubMed
    1. Faus-Damiá M, Alegre-Domingo T, Faus-Matoses I, Faus-Matoses V, Faus-Llácer VJ (2011) Traumatic dental injuries among schoolchildren in Valencia, Spain. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal 16: e292–295. - PubMed
    1. Thelen DS, Bårdsen A (2010) Traumatic dental injuries in an urban adolescent population In Tirana, Albania. Dent Traumatol 26: 376–382. - PubMed
    1. Wilson S, Smith GA, Preisch J, Casamassimo PS (1997) Epidemiology of dental trauma treated in an urban pediatric emergency department. Pediatr Emerg Care 13: 12–15. - PubMed
    1. Huang B, Marcenes W, Croucher R, Hector M (2009) Activities related to the occurrence of traumatic dental injuries in 15- to 18-year-olds. Dent Traumatol 25: 64–68. - PubMed