Traumatic Tooth Avulsion: Knowledge and Attitude of Paramedical Students

Objectives: To find out the knowledge and attitude of paramedical student as regards emergency management of traumatic tooth avulsion (TTA).

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of paramedical students at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. The target population was paramedical students at the Teaching Hospital in 2013. The students were told about the objective of the study and those who gave informed consent were recruited for the study. The data collected were information on demographics, knowledge and practice regarding emergency management of TTA and self assessment of their knowledge of TTA.
The data so collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. The analysis was done using frequency distribution, cross tabulations, test of significance with chi square. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 92 paramedical students were recruited for this study. Majority (76.1) were aged 21-25years. 90.2% knew that an avulsed tooth is one that has been completely dislodged from its socket in the alveolar bone. Only 18.5% knew the best emergency treatment for an avulsed tooth is to replant the tooth in its socket. Less than half (30.4%) knew avulsed tooth should be replanted within 20-60mins of trauma. 35.9% had come across a patient with an avulsed tooth with only 7.3% of them claiming to have replanted the tooth. 53.3% preferred to refer the patient to the dentist. The most frequently picked transport media in descending order for avulsed tooth were saline, milk and antiseptic solution. Only 32.6% reported receiving prior training on management of avulsed tooth with source of knowledge mainly from the internet. Majority (89.1%) were not well informed about emergency management of avulsed tooth while 98.9% agreed they needed education on traumatic tooth avulsion injuries.

Conclusions: The knowledge of paramedical students as regards emergency management of TTA is inadequate.