Dental Trauma Experience, Attitudes and Trauma Prevention in 11- to 13-Year-Old Lithuanian Schoolchildren

Prevalence, Etiology, and Types of Dental Trauma in Self-Assessment of 18-Year-Olds in Poland

The aim of the study is to determine the occurrence and etiology of traumatic dental injuries of permanent teeth and to evaluate the relationship between diagnosed injuries and selected socio-economic indicators. In total, 1741 students aged 18 years, representing all the regions of Poland, took part in the survey. Questionnaires for monitoring studies were prepared in accordance with the criteria of the World Health Organization. Among the respondents, tooth trauma was reported by 18% of adolescents. The most common trauma occurred during other activities (e.g., playing) (64%). The most common direct cause of injury was a fall (43%) or a collision with an object or another person (36%). Risk of injury was increased by a low level of parents' education and poor financial situation of the family. Playing sports is important in the etiology of injuries. The incidence of injuries was highest in school, demonstrating the need for school education in injury prevention and first aid. Occurrence of injuries, their causes, therapy, and post-traumatic complications were similar in respondents of both genders, which can be explained by secularization trends. Risk of injury was increased by parents' low level of education and poor economic status. The research demonstrates the need for universal education on treatment of dental injuries.

Self-reported experience of orofacial injury, preventive practice, and knowledge of Iranian adolescent martial art athletes towards sports-related orofacial injuries

BACKGROUND

Increased engagement of adolescents in martial arts exposes them to a relatively high risk of experiencing orofacial injuries. We evaluated self-reported experience of orofacial injuries, preventive practice, and knowledge of management of sport-related orofacial injuries and related factors in adolescent Karate and Taekwondo athletes in Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on Iranian martial arts athletes including Karate and Taekwondo aged 11-17-year-old in 2020 via an online questionnaire. The anonymous self-administrated questionnaire had four parts: background (age, gender, duration of sports activity, training sessions per week, and previous education on orofacial injury); self-reported experience of orofacial injury; preventive practice including mouthguard and helmet use; and knowledge of emergency management of orofacial injuries. Preventive practice and knowledge scores were calculated by summing up the scores of corresponding questions (possibly range 0-7). A linear regression model and the Pearson correlation served for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Totally, 295 athletes with a mean age of 14.56 ± 1.91 years participated in the study. A quarter (n = 74, 25.1%) of athletes stated that they had received training on prevention of orofacial injuries. Only 3.7% (n = 11) of the participants reported the use of custom-made mouthguards, and 62% (n = 183) reported a positive history of orofacial injuries. A significant relationship existed between self-reported orofacial injury and age (β = - 0.32, p < 0.001), hours of training per week (β = 0.12, p = 0.037), type of sport (β = 0.11, p = 0.049), and previous training on orofacial injuries (β = - 0.14, p = 0.010). No difference existed in the history of orofacial injury between females (n = 114) and males (n = 69) (p = 0.374). The mean score of self-reported preventive practice and knowledge of management of orofacial injuries was 3.53 ± 1.82 (out of 7) and 1.67 ± 1.10 (out of 7), respectively. Age (β = 0.19, p = 0.002) and history of orofacial injury (β = - 0.15, p = 0.010) were associated with the score of self-reported preventive practice. Female athletes (β = 0.11, p = 0.048) and athletes who exercised more per week (β = 0.15, p = 0.012) had significantly more knowledge on management of orofacial injuries.

CONCLUSION

Adolescent athletes had relatively undesirable preventive practices and a distinct lack of knowledge. The high occurrence of self-reported orofacial injuries indicates the importance of more education and stricter rules for the athlete population.