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
. 2024 Aug;40(4):418-424.
doi: 10.1111/edt.12920. Epub 2024 Jan 17.

Knowledge of emergency dental management among a localized sample of athletic trainers

K Wenger  1 , A Williamson  1 , M McNally  1 , E Dutta  1
Affiliations

Knowledge of emergency dental management among a localized sample of athletic trainers

K Wenger et al. Dent Traumatol. 2024 Aug.

Abstract

Background/aims: Athletic trainers are often the point person when sports-related traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) occur. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge levels of the management of TDIs among athletic trainers in the Midwest United States, as well as evaluate variables that may influence knowledge levels.

Material and methods: A survey was sent to athletic trainers licensed in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The survey included 28 multiple-choice and fill in the blank questions split into three sections. The three sections included background, emergency management of TDIs, and opinion questions.

Results: Of the participants, 100% recalled receiving medical first aid training. However, only 71% recalled receiving formal training on emergency management of dental injuries. Although 75% were confident in managing a dental injury, over 63% of participants scored less than 70% in the knowledge score section. Majority of the participants (98.4%) reported that they believe training on the management of TDIs is important. Athletic trainers working with contact sports were more likely to have experienced managing TDIs more recently than those working in noncontact sports.

Conclusions: This study shows the gaps in knowledge among athletic trainers pertaining to management of TDIs and emphasizes the importance of sports community having adequate education on emergency management of such dental injuries.

Keywords: athletic trainers; sports dentistry; traumatic dental injuries.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Abbott P. Traumatic dental injuries are now the 5th most prevalent disease/injury in the world—but they are being neglected!! Dent Traumatol. 2018;34(6):383.
    1. Andersson L, Andreasen JO, Day P, Heithersay G, Trope M, DiAngelis AJ, et al. International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines for the management of traumatic dental injuries: 2 avulsion of permanent teeth. Dent Traumatol. 2012;28(2):88–96.
    1. Ribeiro A, Tozzi TCF, Tumelero S, Carrijo GAN, Vieria LR, Loureiro C, et al. Knowledge and prevalence of trauma and evaluation of the impact of educational and preventive actions on a population of athletes. Res Soc Dev. 2021;10:e16210413913.
    1. Rocha Lima TF, Nagata JY, de Souza‐Filho FJ, de Jesus Soares A. Post‐traumatic complications of severe luxations and replanted teeth. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2015;16(1):13–19.
    1. Garg K, Kalra N, Tyagi R, Khatri A, Panwar G. An appraisal of the prevalence and attributes of traumatic dental injuries in the permanent anterior teeth among 7‐14‐year‐old school children of north East Delhi. Contemp Clin Dent. 2017;8(2):218–224.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources