Abstract

PRIEBE FIGUEIRO, Andressa et al. Prevalence of soft tissue injuries in patients assisted in a specialized treatment center for dental trauma. RFO UPF [online]. 2016, vol.21, n.3, pp. 401-406. ISSN 1413-4012.

Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of soft tissue injuries in children who suffered alveolodental trauma in primary teeth and were assisted at a specialized service of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Pelotas, RS, Brazil. Methods: data collected from the medical records of patients treated from 2002 to 2011 included age, gender, soft tissue injury, and severity of dental trauma. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and associations were made with the chi-square test, using the Stata 11.0 software. Results: from 707 medical records analyzed, 603 children were included in the study. From this total, 51.41% presented soft tissue injuries, besides dental injuries. The highest prevalence of soft tissue injuries was for children aged 25 to 36 months (24.71%) and for the male gender (58.87%). The presence of soft tissue injuries was statistically significant in relation to the severity of dental trauma (p≤0.001) and the age of children (p=0.004), but there was no difference considering gender. The most prevalent soft tissue injury was laceration, both intraoral (64.10%) and extraoral (46.75%), followed by contusion and abrasion. Considering all types of injuries, the intraoral region was mostly affected (50.32%). Conclusion: soft tissue injuries are present in a great portion of children who suffer trauma (51.41%), so it is worth noting the importance of examining and treating such injuries.

Keywords : Children; Soft tissue injuries; Prevalence; Dental trauma.