Knowledge and attitudes about emergency management of avulsed teeth among primary and middle school teachers in Malatya, Turkey

Dental trauma is highly frequent in children during school time and school teachers are often the first witnesses of the incident. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the knowledge of school teachers about dental avulsion and its management.

This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted on 782 primary and secondary school teachers in Malatya, Turkey. The questionnaire included three sections assessing (i) demographic characteristics, (ii), knowledge and attitudes about emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth, and (iii) teachers’ perspective on dental trauma education and selfevaluation of dental trauma knowledge. The correct answer scores were calculated according to section 2 (6 questions-17 items). Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple linear regression analysis.

The correct answer score was calculated out of 17; the highest score was 13 and the mean score was 8.5. The level of knowledge on emergency management of avulsed teeth was higher among the teachers who had previously been trained on the subject.

The knowledge of Turkish school teachers about emergency management of avulsed teeth is limited. The findings obtained in this study indicated that an educational strategy for teachers is strongly required.