Knowledge and Attitude of Brazilian Elementary School Teachers Towards Dental Trauma

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To evaluate both knowledge and attitude of public elementary school teachers in Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, towards Traumatic Dental Injuries (TDIs).

Material and Methods:

Four hundred and seventy-one teachers from 10 schools were invited to participate in the research. Two hundred and twelve were accepted, being randomly selected to answer semi-structured questionnaires. Statistical tests Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact Test were also used for the other variables at a significance level of 5% (p<0.05).

Results:

212 teachers answered; 34% had first-aid training in college or even voluntarily (22.6%), but only 7.1% had taken training about TDIs. Only 7.5% were satisfied with the knowledge about TDIs, and 12.3% felt prepared to face it. About 10.8% had seen any type of TDI; 53.3% would report to the headmaster and 8% to the school dentist in a TDI event. The teachers’ first attitude towards TDIs would be contacting the child’s parents (63.2% and 58.5%, respectively). About 47.2% would handle the tooth properly (by the crown). Nearly 90.1% would carry out a permanent tooth dental reimplant, which would be conducted immediately (71.2%). About 36.3% of the teachers storage the avulsed tooth in a liquid: milk (46.7%) and saline solution (24.7%). The dry media mentioned were paper (18.9%) and gauze or cotton (15.1%). Most of the teachers (96.2%) stated that they would like to receive information on TDI.

Conclusion:

Elementary school teachers in Alfenas have partial knowledge about traumatic dental injuries.

Keywords:
Education; Tooth Avulsion; Health Knowledge; Attitudes; Practice