International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2014): 5.611 Volume 5 Issue 3, March 2016 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Awareness, Attitude and Knowledge of Emergency Management of Avulsed Tooth in Urban India Dr. Sumita A. Bhagwat, Dr. Akshay Parmar, Dr. Lalitagauri P. Mandke Abstract: Aims and Objective : Dental avulsion is the complete and total displacement of tooth from its socket. An avulsed tooth can possibly be re-implanted. There is a need to spread awareness amongst the population who are unaware of such treatment modalities. The present study aimed at investigating knowledge, attitude and awareness amongst population in Navi Mumbai about emergency management of avulsed tooth. An additional aim was to spread the correct knowledge and emergency protocol to be followed in case of dental avulsion. Materials and Methods : A contact survey was conducted with a sample size of 504 patients in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, D.Y Patil University, School of Dentistry, Navi Mumbai regarding their knowledge and awareness about emergency treatment of avulsed over a period of 3 months. Data was tabulated in excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS 22.0 software. Discussion and Conclusion : Patients themselves can play an important role in improving the prognosis of the avulsed tooth. Majority of the respondents (95%) were unaware of possibility of re-implantation of avulsed tooth. Almost 88% of female respondent disagreed to self re-implant the avulsed tooth. Majority of males and females said they would visit a dentist for emergency treatment. When asked about the cleaning media to be used to clean the dirty avulsed tooth, 36% of the illiterate respondents preferred to use a toothbrush. About 18% respondents chose ice water as storage medium to carry the avulsed tooth. Irrespective of education level, gender or awareness level of possibility of re-implantation of avulsed tooth, there is a general lack of awareness about the emergency management of avulsed tooth. Keywords: Avulsion, Emergency treatment, Tooth re-implantation, Survey 1. Introduction Traumatic injuries during childhood are quite common. Dental avulsion has an incidence of 0.5-3% of all traumatic injuries in permanent dentition and 7-13% in primary dentition. [1-4] Studies have shown that about 50% of children have their primary or permanent dentition affected by traumatic injuries during their school life [1] . Teeth more commonly involved are the maxillary central and lateral incisors. Loss of the maxillary central/ lateral incisors can cause psychological, social, functional and aesthetic repercussion to the patient and thus effect overall growth as a person. It is very important for general population to understand the importance of saving the avulsed tooth and know the emergency management, if situation prevails. Dental avulsion is defined as the complete and total displacement of tooth from its socket [8] . Prognosis of the tooth depends on the viability of the periodontal ligament and time elapsed since the incident took place. Studies done in the past have shown that there is a need to increase the awareness and spread the right knowledge amongst people about tooth avulsion [9-13] . This study was aimed at investigating the knowledge and awareness amongst population of a metropolitan city in western part of India about emergency management of avulsed tooth. An additional aim was to spread the correct knowledge and emergency protocol to be followed in case of dental avulsion. 2. Materials and Method A randomized study with a sample size of 504 patients was conducted in Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics over a period of 3 months. Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional ethical committee. A questionnaire ( Table 1) was formulated to study the awareness and knowledge amongst general population regarding avulsed permanent teeth. A contact survey was carried out in English/Hindi/Marathi where the investigator was always present to assist the individuals who wished to be a part of this study. Every individual who participated in the survey signed an informed consent form. At the end of the questionnaire, the participants were told the right answers and were educated about the correct protocol to manage dental avulsion in future. Data was collected and tabulated in excel sheet and analysed using IPSS 22.0 software and a comparison was made based on level of education, gender and awareness of possible re-implantation following dental avulsion. 3. Results Table 2 gives the demographic tabulation of the data. Tables 3 to 24 give the frequency dustribution of the responses to the questions in the survey and their statistical analysis. Table 1: Questionnaire Questions Options Are you aware of possibility of re- implantation of avulsed tooth as part of first-aid in treatment modality? Yes No How soon do you believe re- implantation of avulsed tooth should be done? Immediately As bleeding stops After 1 hour The same day After few days Later dental visits Would you attempt to self re-implant the tooth? Yes No Who would you consult in case of an avulsed tooth? Doctor Family member/ Friend/ Neighbour Dentist Other Are you aware that you have to clean the dirty avulsed tooth? Yes No Paper ID: NOV161908 707