Dental trauma management awareness among primary school teachers in the Emirate of Ajman, United Arab Emirates

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

To assess, by means of self-administered structured questionnaire, the level of knowledge of primary schools
teachers in Ajman with regards to the immediate emergency management of dental trauma.

Methods

The
questionnaire was sent to teachers in randomly selected primary schools in Ajman. A total of 161 teachers responded
(response rate 84.4). The questionnaire surveyed teachers' background, knowledge and management of tooth
fracture, avulsion, and also investigated teachers' attitudes and self-assessed knowledge.

Results

Ninety-one percent of
the teachers were females, 51.6 in their thirties and 61.5 had university qualification. Fifty teachers had
received formal first aid training, and only thirteen of them recalled that they had received training on the management of
dental trauma. Concerning the management of tooth fracture, 138 respondents (85.8) gave the appropriate
management for fractured tooth. One hundred twenty-one (75) of the respondents indicated that is very urgent to
seek professional assistance if a permanent tooth is avulsed, but they had little knowledge on the correct media for
transporting the avulsed tooth. Most teaches were unsatisfied with their level of knowledge for dental trauma and the majority
were interested in having further education on the topic.

Conclusion

The findings revealed that the level of knowledge of
management of dental trauma (especially tooth avulsion) among school teachers in Ajman is inadequate, and education
campaigns are necessary to improve their emergency management of dental injuries.

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