Etiology of Traumatic Dental Injuries in 11 to 13-year-old Schoolchildren

To assess place, activities and human intention related to Traumatic Dental Injuries (TDI) events in 11 to 13-year-old schoolchildren in Biguaçu, Brazil. Also, to test the association between socio-economic status and TDI. A cross-sectional survey (n = 2,260) was carried out. A trained and calibrated dentist collected the data through clinical examinations and interviews. Clinical examination included the type of TDI, the treatment required and provided, the size of incisal overjet and the type of lip coverage. The response rate was 90.6%. The prevalence of TDI was 10.7%. Boys experienced more TDI than girls, 13.6% and 7.6% respectively (P 0.001). Fathers' and mothers' levels of education were not statistically associated with TDI (P > 0.05). Children who had an incisal overjet greater than 5 mm had more dental injuries than those whose incisal overjet was less than 5 mm (P = 0.003). There was no association between inadequate lip coverage and TDI (P > 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that maleness and incisal overjet remained statistically associated with dental injuries, after adjusting for other risk factors. The main activities associated with TDI were physical leisure activities (28.9%), playing with other people (18.2%), collisions (9.1%), and falls (8.3%). Common places where the TDI event occurred were at home (42.6%), in the street (21.5%) and at school (9.5%). 29.2% of TDI were the result of the actions of another person. The most common TDI events were physical leisure activities, most TDI occurred at home, and the actions of another person were an important factor in relation to the occurrence of TDI. Keywords: causes, child abuse, dental injury, etiology, gender, sex, trauma