Prevalence of Traumatic Dental Injuries Among 12- to 15-year-old Schoolchildren in Ambala District, Haryana, India

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in the Ambala district of Haryana state, India. Materials and Methods: A study was carried out on 963 schoolchildren of 15 government schools in the Ambala district. The examiner was calibrated and a pilot study was conducted. Maxillary as well as mandibular anterior teeth were taken into consideration to assess the traumatic dental injuries. The teeth involved, place of and reason for injury and other demographic details were recorded in a structured format. Data were analysed using SPSS version 13.0. Results: Out of 963 subjects, 14.4% (139) had at least one tooth with TDI. Of these subjects, males and females accounted for 16.2% (77) and 12.7% (62), respectively. Permanent maxillary central incisors were the most commonly affected teeth. Enamel fracture was the most common (80% [111]) followed by enamel-dentin fracture (17.2% [24]). A higher number of children with incisal overjet greater than 3 mm had TDI than those with less than 3 mm, although this difference was not statistically significant. Subjects with Class III and Class II Div II malocclusion were more likely to have TDI, 16.2% and 17.7% respectively. Lip-closure incompetence was found to be more common in subjects having a TDI. Amongst the subjects having a TDI, only 83.4% (116) were aware of their injury, and falling was the reason most commonly reported. Conclusion: Traumatic dental injuries are highly prevalent among schoolchildren. Most of the TDIs involve only tooth enamel. Incompetent lip closure was significantly associated with TDIs and a fall was the major cause for TDIs in this age group. Keywords: dental injury, luxation, schoolchildren, trauma