Prevalence of traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth among 3-17-year-old school children of Indore and correlating it with Kuppuswamy SES, occlusal relationship and ascertaining percentage of those seeking the treatment.

Background: Orofacial trauma is one of the most prevailing oral health problems among the children. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and distribution of traumatic injuries and to correlate the causes, specific age groups, socio-economic status, occlusal relationship and ascertain the percentage of those seeking the treatment among school children in Indore (Madhya Pradesh, India).

Materials And Methods: Five thousand school going children aged between 3 and 17 years belonging to different zones of Indore were randomly selected and divided into three age groups, Group I - 3-5 years; Group II - 6-11 years and Group III - 12-17 years. The study was carried out by a single investigator and assisted by a well-trained cooperative alert assistant. An American Dental Association (ADA) type 3 examination was carried out using a mouth mirror and explorer under sufficient natural light. Traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth were recorded according to the Ellis and Davey classification. Details were noted concerning the gender, age and socio-economic status of patient; cause of trauma, number, type and relationship of teeth, lip competence and the level of unmet treatment needs.

Results: One thousand and seventeen children had traumatized anterior teeth with a mean prevalence of 20.34%. Prevalence was more in boys than in girls with a ratio of 2:1. Single tooth injury was observed in 81.7%. The prevalence of trauma was highest in the upper socio-economic class (31.4%) and least was seen in lower class (14.8%). The most common cause of trauma was from a fall (36.72%). Maximum prevalence was seen in either class II division 1 malocclusion or distal step terminal plane primary molar relationship. Only 2.95% of the children had undergone treatment for traumatically injured anterior teeth.

Conclusion: High prevalence of traumatized teeth with the low percentage of children receiving treatment emphasizes the need for education programs about traumatic dental injuries that should be directed towards the children, parents and school teachers.