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
. 2025 Jul 5;25(1):1102.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06435-y.

Traumatic dental injuries in children and adolescents presenting to a tertiary children's hospital in Shenzhen, China

Yuanyuan Wang #  1 , Huihui Chang #  1 , Chanchan Chen  1 , Xin Yang  1 , Ming Quan  1 , Xinmin Liao  1 , Zhiqing Liao  2
Affiliations

Traumatic dental injuries in children and adolescents presenting to a tertiary children's hospital in Shenzhen, China

Yuanyuan Wang et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background/Aim: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are a significant public health concern, particularly among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of TDIs and investigate the factors affecting delays in seeking medical care using data from patients treated at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital from January to December 2023.

Methods: We reviewed the electronic records of 1,683 patients, classifying TDIs into fracture and luxation injuries according to IADT guidelines. Data were analysed via descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression to determine demographic and clinical features.

Results: TDIs were more prevalent in children aged 2–4 years and 7–9 years, with males comprising 70.4% of the patients. The most affected teeth were maxillary incisors. Luxation injuries were more common in primary dentition, whereas fracture injuries were more prevalent in permanent dentition. Additionally, sunny weather and temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C were identified as risk factors associated with a higher incidence of TDIs. Most patients (98.1%) sought care within 24 h, with age and type of injury significantly influencing the time to treatment.

Conclusions: Necessary improvements should be considered in the healthcare education system to address dental trauma better. This process is crucial to increase awareness of the importance of timely medical care, both for younger children and their parents.

Keywords: Children and adolescents; Emergencies; Time to treatment; Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shenzhen Children’s Hospital (Approval No. 202404802). As this retrospective study utilized anonymized electronic medical records, the requirement for informed consent was waived by the ethics committee. All procedures adhered to the ethical standards outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. All data presented in this manuscript are anonymized aggregated results, and no individually identifiable data (including images or personal details) are included. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of children and adolescents with dental trauma by age group and sex
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of children and adolescents with dental trauma by temperature
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of children and adolescents with dental trauma by month
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Distribution of children and adolescents with dental trauma by time of day
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bastone EB, Freer TJ, McNamara JR. Epidemiology of dental trauma: a review of the literature. Aust Dent J. 2000;45(1):2–9. - PubMed
    1. Flores MT. Traumatic injuries in the primary dentition. Dent Traumatol. 2002;18(5):287–98. - PubMed
    1. Hargreaves JA, Cleaton-Jones PE, Roberts GJ, Williams S, Matejka JM. Trauma to primary teeth of South African pre-school children. Endod Dent Traumatol. 1999;15(2):73–6. - PubMed
    1. Cunha RF, Pugliesi DM, de Mello Vieira AE. Oral trauma in Brazilian patients aged 0–3 years. Dent Traumatol. 2001;17(5):210–2. - PubMed
    1. Canakci V, Akgul HM, Akgul N, Canakci CF. Prevalenceand handedness correlates of traumatic injuries to the permanent incisors in 13–17 year-old adolescents in erzurum,turkey. Dent Traumatol. 2003;19:248–54. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources