The assessment of teachers’ and medical professionals’ knowledge on first aid in tooth injuries

Introduction. Tooth injuries constitute a serious clinical problem in contemporary paediatric dentistry. Immediately delivered and correct first aid is particularly important in the case of dental trauma. Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the general knowledge of teachers and medical professionals on providing first aid to children in the case of dental trauma. Taking part in a first aid training course was also analysed. Material and methods. An anonymous, voluntary questionnaire was administered to 727 people. It was conducted in January and February 2017 in three Polish provinces. The respondents were divided into groups depending on their age, sex, educational level, number of children and profession related to medicine or school education. Behavioural patterns were analysed in the event of a complete tooth dislocation or crown fracture. Results. According to the study, 577 respondents (79.4%) have participated in a first aid training course at least once. Every third person: 223 (32%) has been a witness of a tooth injury. The most frequent type of encountered trauma was soft tissue injury and tooth crown fracture: 114 (35%) and 96 (29%) cases, respectively. The professionals who tried to provide first aid in dental trauma at a similar percentage were teachers: 56% of cases and people associated with medicine: 53%; the remaining professionals did so in 36% of cases. Conclusions. The issue of first aid in dental trauma is rarely raised during first aid training courses. Despite this, every second person participating in the study has tried to provide first aid. However, their actions were incorrect in most cases.