Traumatic injuries to permanent anterior teeth among Indians: frequency, aetiology and risk factors

Introduction: Trauma to anterior teeth is a significant clinical problem among all age groups, especially in children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to report on the prevalence and severity of anterior tooth trauma in a large population-based sample of residents from Greater Noida, India. Method: Clinical data from 9074 patients was collected at the Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, School of Dental Sciences, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India between January 2010 and December 2011. The type of injury, age, aetiology, risk factors, gender predilection, overjet and lip incompetency were determined and statistically analysed. Results: Some 9.26% of the patients examined had experienced a traumatic injury to permanent anterior teeth. A total of 1359 traumatised teeth were identified with the male-to-female ratio of 2.7:1. The most injuries were reported between the ages of 16 to 24 years. The most frequent risk factor was ascertained to be road traffic accidents (35%), followed by falls and collisions (23%). The commonest type of injury was uncomplicated crown fractures (37.4%), followed by complicated fractures (25.6%). The maxillary central incisor was the most commonly affected tooth. Only 8.6% of the patients presented for dental treatment within 24 h of the injury, while the remainder delayed seeking treatment for varying times of up to 1 year or more. Conclusion: It was concluded that road traffic accidents are the most common cause of dental trauma among the young adults in Greater Noida. Patients and parents should be informed about the prevention and necessity of the early treatment of dental trauma and the possible consequences of delayed treatment. Keywords: India, prevalence, trauma