Traumatic dental injuries in a tertiary institution in Nigeria: a 4-year retrospective analysis

 Background;  Traumatic dental injury (TDI) has grown to be a significant public health issue due to its high prevalence as well as the significant negative effects it has on quality of life. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and causes of TDI in a  Dental outpatient clinic for 4 years. Method: A retrospective study was conducted on 52 TDI patients who were treated at a Tertiary Institution's Dental Outpatient clinic between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2021.  Data on age, gender, etiology, types of teeth involved, types of dental trauma, the day the incidents occurred, and treatment options were retrieved. Traumatized teeth were classified using Andreasen’s classification. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20.0. Result   A total of 208 patients with maxillofacial injuries (163 males and 45 females) aged 1 to 81 years were examined. The prevalence of TDI was 25%. Male and female prevalences were 18.2% and 6.7%, respectively. There were 52 TDI patients  with a mean age of 16.5  ±  12.02. The most common reason for TDI was motorcycle accidents at 30.77%. Avulsion(40.67%) and subluxation(50%) were the most frequently diagnosed injuries in the permanent dentition and primary dentition, respectively. There was no association between trauma source and dentition type (p=0.342), nor was there a difference between trauma source and gender(p=0.863). Conclusion.The study observed that a high percentage of 40.38% had an injury to three or more teeth resulting in attendant functional and esthetic complications. Hence public health issue that warrants urgent government attention.