Clinical consequences, treatment status, and parental awareness of traumatic dental injuries among high school students: a cross-sectional study in Cairo

Abstract

Abstract Background This study assessed the current clinical consequences and treatment status of previous traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) affecting permanent anterior teeth among adolescents aged 15–17 years in Cairo, Egypt, and evaluated parental awareness and knowledge regarding the emergency management of TDI. Subjects and methods A school-based analytical cross-sectional study assessing treatment history was conducted among 2,000 secondary school students aged 15–17 years using multistage stratified sampling. Stage 1: Students underwent standardized clinical examinations, during which a diagnostic chart was completed to determine the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs), with a collection of self-reported history on trauma, sociodemographic characteristics, cause and location of injury, treatment type, time elapsed since injury, and the activity at the time of trauma. Traumatized teeth were classified as either treated or untreated. Current clinical consequences were interpreted conceptually as persistent manifestations of the original injury, possible post-traumatic clinical findings, an indeterminate structural outcome, or a patient-reported impact. Tooth-level comparisons used binary logistic generalized estimating equations (GEE) clustered by student. Stage 2: A structured questionnaire to assess parental awareness of TDI management, treatment-seeking behavior and emergency knowledge among parents of traumatized students was distributed to the parents or legal guardians of students who met the inclusion criteria, along with written informed consent. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and clustering-adjusted generalized estimating equations for tooth-level clinical findings. Results Previous TDIs were confirmed in 340 students. A total of 350 traumatized teeth were recorded; 29 teeth were treated, and 321 were left untreated. Parental awareness questionnaires were completed by 240 parents. Clinical consequences were more frequent in untreated than treated teeth. Uncomplicated crown fracture, tooth discoloration, and esthetic complaints were the most common clinical findings. Sports and activity-related trauma contributed to nearly 70% of all recorded injury activities. Mouthguard use was uncommon. Parental knowledge of emergency management was limited. Conclusion Most recorded TDIs remained untreated, which contributed to a higher occurrence of complications in the affected teeth. These findings highlight the need to raise parental awareness of early intervention and first-aid measures and to improve students’ awareness of the importance of mouthguard use during sports.