Immediate Management of Traumatic Tooth Avulsion among Secondary School Teachers in Port Harcourt

Abstract

Background: Traumatic tooth avulsion (TTA) frequently occurs in schools, where teachers are often called upon to provide immediate care. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge of Secondary School teachers in Obio-Akpor local government area on the immediate management of TTA, and to assess the relationship between sociodemographic variables and participants level of knowledge about the immediate management of TTA.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among secondary school teachers. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic and other relevant information. Participant’s level of knowledge on the immediate management of avulsed teeth was scored from 0 to 6, and categorized as poor, fair and good. Data was analysed using SPSS version 25. Chi square test was used to determine the association between participant’s level of knowledge and sociodemographic variables. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 200 teachers correctly filled the questionnaire, most of whom were female (64.0%). Almost two-thirds (60.5%), of the study participants had prior knowledge about tooth avulsion. Most of the participants did not know how to correctly preserve or handle an avulsed tooth reimplantation. Overall, only 16.5% of the study participants had good knowledge about traumatic tooth avulsion and its immediate management. There was statistically significant association between respondents’ knowledge and the number of years as a teacher.

Conclusion: The level of knowledge of secondary school teachers on the immediate management of traumatic tooth avulsion was inadequate. Those with ≤ 3 years teaching experience had relatively better knowledge on the immediate management of tooth avulsion.