Traumatic dental injuries among children aged 0-17 years in the BITA study - a longitudinal Swedish multicenter study.

Background/aim: To prevent traumatic dental injuries (TDI), there is a need for vital information. This information could be reached using certain specific variables. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate TDI in different age groups, their etiology, and differences by gender, in Swedish children aged 0-17 years.

Subjects And Methods: The study included 2363 children in four different age cohorts from 12 Public Dental Service clinics in Sweden. The design was a 5-year longitudinal study including yearly clinical examinations, retrospective and prospective data compiled from dental records and interviews regarding TDI.

Results: The prevalence for TDI was 37.6% (889) with no gender differences. Boys suffered more injuries during the spring and fall compared to girls. The incidence of 2.8% varied between the age groups where preschool children presented the highest incidence. No changes in prevalence for TDI were found for the years included in the study. The most common reason for TDI was Falling (42.1%). The frequencies for the etiological factors varied between the ages.

Conclusions: The TDI prevalence showed to be stable at a high level in spite of great efforts in Sweden and worldwide to reduce it. Knowledge in why, where, and when TDI appears is therefore essential for dental personnel who will work to reduce TDI.