Abstract
Objective:
To evaluate the knowledge of elementary school teachers about the management of dental trauma.
Material and Methods:
An observational study, with the cross-sectional design, was conducted among primary school teachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia during January 2017. The questionnaire distributed among 400 primary school teachers from 18 different schools using convenient sampling. Data were gathered and analyzed using SPSS version 20
Results:
378 (94.5%) respondents to the questionnaire. It was found that only 37.8% of the primary school teachers were able to distinguish between the primary and permanent teeth. Only 59.5% reported starting the management of a child with trauma immediately. Merely 38.4% believed that it is important to search for the missing tooth or the broken pieces, whereas 31% would re-implant the permanent tooth into the socket by themselves. Regarding the storage media, only 16.6% respond correctly. According to school teachers, the best way of learning the management of dental trauma at school is through videos (36.2%) and phone application (33.9%)
Conclusion:
School teachers lack knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma. We strongly recommend planning for dental trauma educational based on the teacher's perception after pilot testing its effectiveness.
Keywords:
Tooth Injuries; Tooth Fractures; Tooth Replantation; School Teachers
