Elementary Schoolteachers' Knowledge and Decision-making Regarding Dental Trauma

Purpose: To evaluate elementary schoolteachers' knowledge and decision making regarding dental trauma in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among elementary schoolteachers (n = 442). Questions encompassed sociodemographic characteristics and decision making regarding dental trauma. Data on the appropriate answer regarding what to do with a traumatised or avulsed tooth were analysed with multiple logistic regressions, adjusting for age, gender, work experience and previous training. Results: The study population consisted largely of women (90%), was 40 to 49 years old (44.3%) and had more than 15 years of work experience (56.6%). Women (OR = 2.68/p = 0.041), teachers under 30 years old (OR = 4.95/p = 0.041), those with more than 15 years of work experience (OR = 8.95/p 0.001) or those who had already received previous dental trauma instructions (OR = 1.95/ p = 0.119) were more likely to choose the appropriate answer for an avulsion situation. Teachers under 30 years old (OR = 2.88/ p = 0.279), those with more than 15 years of work experience (OR = 4.55/p = 0.001) or those who had received previous training (OR = 3.39/p = 0.009) presented higher probabilites of choosing the appropriate answer for a crown fracture event. Conclusion: Greater work experience or previous instructions on how to approach dental trauma in the school environment were found to be major factors in schoolteachers' decision making regarding dental trauma. Keywords: dental education, teaching/education, tooth injuries