Knowledge and attitudes of Makkah government female school teachers regarding emergency management of dental trauma – A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Children dental trauma is a significant oral health issue worldwide; accidents involving falls in school are extremely common; they are the main etiological factor of traumatic tooth injury. Children around the age of 8–11 years are the most affected with these injuries. Aim: The purpose of the study is to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of Makkah government female school teachers regarding the emergency management of dental trauma. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study where participants were 378 teachers of 6–12 years old children in primary schools who were randomly selected from primary public schools in Makkah city and were invited to fill in a self-administered questionnaire. Teachers' knowledge was assessed using their answers on the appropriate action in given imaginary cases; their personal profile information was also obtained from the questionnaire. Results: A total of 378 female teachers participated in the study. Of these, 35.7% had first aid training and 6.3% had dental emergency training. However, teachers' knowledge of dental emergencies was severely lacking. The relation between teachers' knowledge and their age, educational level, years of experience, first aid training, dental emergency training, and the number of emergency dental cases experienced was tested; however, the results found no significant difference. Conclusions: This study concluded that female primary school teachers in Makkah were drastically lacking knowledge in dental trauma management. Accordingly, awareness programs focused on how teachers at primary school understand the basic management of emergency dental trauma is needed.