Resumo

CURYLOFO, Patrícia Almeida; LORENCETTI, Karina Torales  e  SILVA, Silvio Rocha Corrêa da. Evaluation of teachers' knowledge concerning tooth avulsion. Arq. Odontol. [online]. 2012, vol.48, n.3, pp. 175-180. ISSN 1516-0939.

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge of elementary school teachers regarding the proper conduct in cases of tooth avulsion in elementary school students. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted using convenience sample made up of teachers from four elementary schools in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. These teachers answered a questionnaire concerning their personal data and their own knowledge about tooth avulsion. Results: Participants were an average of 41 years of age, and 96.2% were female. Regarding the proper procedures to be taken in the case of tooth avulsion, 73.1% said they did not know the procedures, 40.4% had already witnessed a tooth avulsion within the school's environment, whereas only 23.5% would attempt to reimplant an avulsed tooth. Approximately 34.6% of the participants claimed that they would collect the avulsed tooth and would take the both the child and the tooth to the dentist for a proper diagnosis; however, only 9.6% would leave the tooth for less than an hour outside the mouth. Dry material (gauze, glass jar, cotton) was the choice of 42.6% of the respondents to transport the tooth to the dentist, while water and milk presented the lowest response percentage (13.1%). Conclusions: The teachers' knowledge concerning most appropriate measures to be taken when faced with a tooth avulsion is inadequate and further training of these professionals could lead to correct treatments and better prognoses. Uniterms: Tooth avulsion. Tooth injuries. Faculty.

Palavras-chave : Dental anxiety; Humanization of assistance; User embracement.