Abstract

ALBUQUERQUE, Yasmin Etienne; ROSELL, Fernanda Lopez; TAGLIAFERRO, Elaine Pereira da Silva  and  SILVA, Silvio Rocha Corrêa da. Knowledge of mothers about emergency management of tooth avulsion. RFO UPF [online]. 2014, vol.19, n.2, pp. 159-165. ISSN 1413-4012.

Introduction: Despite tooth avulsion following trauma being relatively common in children, the available studies show that adults have limited knowledge about it. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess, by a questionnaire, the mothers' general knowledge about the immediate management of tooth avulsion. Material and method: This descriptive study was carried out on a convenient sample of mothers (n= 65) who participated of the "Pastoral da Criança", from Araraquara, SP, Brazil. The questionnaire comprised 15 questions about personal data and knowledge on tooth avulsion management. Results: Participants were, on average, 35 years old. A total of 30.8% of the mothers reported that their children suffered dental trauma. The majority had never received advice on this subject (76.9%); and did not know how teeth are kept in the dental arch (69.2%). Almost a half of the sample believed that an avulsed tooth can be replanted (49.2%). In relation to the management of tooth avulsion, 40% of them would clean the avulsed tooth with water, even if it was not dirty (38.5%). Most of them (69.2%) would take the tooth by hand for cleaning purposes, regardless the tooth region; and believed that brushing the tooth was important to take the dirty out (67.7%). Conclusion: The general knowledge of mothers about the immediate management of tooth avulsion was considered inadequate endangering the successful treatment of tooth avulsion.

Keywords : Tooth avulsion.; Knowledge.; Child..