Dental Trauma: Evaluation of Children in a Dental Emergency Room

Studies have demonstrated that dental trauma is common in children, mainly during the first years of life. Objectives: 1) to evaluate the relationship between the age at the time of trauma and the frequency and type of trauma and 2) to study the prevalence of the etiologic factor. Methods: one thousand and seventy-eight records from a dental emergency room which attends children aged 0 to 60 months were analyzed. Andreasen's classification was used to determine the type of trauma. The samples were divided into two groups: Group I were children ages 0 - 36 months and Group II were children ages 37 - 60 months. Results: the highest frequency of dental trauma occurred in group I (72,5%). Trauma due falls had the highest prevalence, especially in group I. The one-way variance (ANOVA) showed a statistical difference between group I and intrusive luxation (p=0,01). The intrusive luxation was caused by falls in 85,3% of the cases. In both groups, males had a higher frequency of trauma due walking or running. (p=0,04). Conclusions: children in the first childhood are more likely to suffer dental injuries due trauma. The intrusive luxation was the most prevalent trauma. Therefore, it is important to educate parents in preventive measures and to train dentists for dental trauma care, because of possible complications to permanent teeth.