Prevalence of traumatic dental injuries and their relation with predisposing factors among 8-15 years old school children of Indore city, India.

Background: Dental injuries result in functional, esthetic and psychological disturbances accompanied by great concern from the child, the parent and the dentist. Oral injuries are fourth most common area of bodily injuries among 7-30 year-old individuals.

Aim: a) To assess the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and their relation with predisposing factors among 8-15 years old school children in Indore city, India.b) To collect baseline data as there have been no reported studies of TDI in central India to this date.

Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 4000 children of 60 schools in Indore using multistage random sampling method. Examination of permanent incisor teeth was done in accordance with the modified Elli's and Davey Classification using a standard mouth mirror and probe. Subjects who had clinical evidence of trauma were interviewed for details of the injury event by using structured questionnaire. Chi square test was used to analyze the distribution of all the measurement in this study at the statistical significance of 0.05.

Results: Among the 4000 children of 60 schools examined, 10.2% experienced TDI. 68.38% boys experienced TDI, which was approximately twice as higher in females being 31.62%. The most commonly affected teeth were maxillary central incisors. A higher number of children with incisal overjet greater than 3 mm had TDI than those with less than 3 mm, although this difference was not statistically significant. Lip closure incompetence was found to be more common in subjects having a TDI. Fall was the most common cause for TDI and place of occurrence was home. Most common type of fracture was class I and most of them were untreated.

Conclusion: The high level of dental trauma and low percentage of children with trauma seeking treatment stresses the need for increased awareness in Indore population.