Retrospective study of traumatic dental injuries in primary teeth in a Brazilian specialized pediatric practice

To determine the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) in children younger than 7 years and the effect of predisposing clinical factors on their occurrence.

Dental records of 2725 children younger than 7 years seen in a private pediatric dental clinic in Goiânia, Brazil, from February 1993 to December 2008 were analyzed. A group of 150 children without traumatic injuries and with similar characteristics to those of the trauma group were used to study predisposing clinical factors as follows: lip coverage (adequate/inadequate), overbite (normal/negative/deep), and overjet (less or greater than 3 mm). Frequency distribution and a chi-square test were used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at 5%.

Clinical and radiographic data of 412 injured deciduous teeth were found in 383 records. TDI prevalence was 11.9%, with no significant difference between sexes. The maxillary central incisors were the teeth most frequently affected (83.3%), and the most frequent type of injury was subluxation (35.1%). TDI was most prevalent in the 13-to-36-month age group (47.7%). Home (43.5%) was the main place of occurrence, followed by school (10.1%); falls (50.3%) were the most common cause, followed by collisions with objects (18.2%). The first examination or treatment occurred in the first 24 h in 46.5% of the cases. The analysis of the association of predisposing clinical factors with TDI revealed no differences in lip coverage; however, overjet >3 mm and deep and negative overbite were significantly associated with TDI.

TDI in primary dentition should receive careful attention, particularly when it affects children younger than 3 years and in the presence of overjet, overbite, or both.