Knowledge of trainers of retarded care centers about tooth avulsion

Dental trauma has always been a common problem in dental health while mentally challenged children are more susceptible to it. This interventional study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge of trainers of mentally challenged children care centers about the management of dental trauma, and participants voluntarily took part in the study. A questionnaire containing demographic questions, and 12 questions related to the knowledge of trainers about the emergency management of avulsed teeth were designed. Each correct answer gave one score, and eventually, teachers who had correctly answered between 0 to 6 questions were considered to have limited real knowledge about the issue (from 7 to 9 medium, and from 10 to 12). In the second phase, an educational intervention was done to enhance the knowledge of trainers by distributing brochures in care centers. Finally, data were analyzed by Chi-square test. In this study, almost all participants were females (97%). Results illustrated that more experienced trainers and elder ones were relatively more knowledgeable than their younger and less experienced co-workers. Also, teachers working in private care centers had more knowledge than those working in the public sector. However, the knowledge about the management of dental traumas was unsatisfactory at first, yet it was hugely promoted after the educational intervention was carried out, which indicated the importance of conducting other educational interventions for the improvement of the management of dental traumas.