Physicians' and Dentists' Knowledge of Management of Avulsed Teeth

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the knowledge and attitude of newly graduated physicians & dentists regarding emergency management of avulsed teeth. METHODS: Thirty physicians and 30 dentists who graduated during the period 2000-2004 were surveyed. They all served in hospitals and dental centres with emergency settings. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: All the participants that were asked were willing to participate. The majority of the physicians (83.3%) surveyed had not received information on what to do if a tooth is knocked-out and 96.6% did not have any dental health education course during their study. In contrast, nearly all the dentists (93.3%) had received information on what to do if a tooth is knocked-out. Regarding knowledge level, eight of the physicians (26.6%) demonstrated low knowledge while the remaining 22 (73.3%) had some knowledge; none of the physicians showed a high knowledge level. In sharp contrast, 22 dentists (78.5%) had high knowledge, 6 (21.4%) showed some knowledge and none demonstrated low knowledge. CONCLUSION: Emergency dental treatment is sometimes required to be provided by a physician before any dental contact. Unfortunately, the findings from this survey clearly suggest that very few physicians would provide appropriate emergency treatment. All medical staff need to receive simple instructions about management of dental trauma. Most dentists had high knowledge regarding this issue; nevertheless, a few dentists were found to have limited knowledge, which needs to be improved.