Type of treatment and estimation of time spent on dental trauma--a longitudinal and retrospective study

The consequences of traumatic tooth injuries (dental trauma) are time-consuming and costly treatment and follow-ups, of which our knowledge is scarce. Consequently the aim of the present study was to measure the total time of treatment of uncomplicated and complicated traumas to primary and permanent teeth. The study was performed in three steps based on a randomly selected sample of Danish children and adolescents living in the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark: (I) A descriptive analysis of traumas affecting 106 children and adolescents all born in 1970 and randomly chosen among the total number of patients treated. Treatments took place between 1972 and 1988. (II) A study of the time and frequency of different types of emergency and planned treatment estimated by 14 dentists employed by the municipal dental service. (III) Calculation of the total treatment time on the basis of the results from (I) and (II). The most common traumas were luxations of primary teeth and fractures of permanent teeth. The most frequent treatments dealt with were uncomplicated crown fractures and luxations followed by other different diagnoses of complicated traumas. The treatment time for primary teeth for uncomplicated traumas were used mostly for information, while the time for complicated traumas was used for follow-ups. The treatment time for traumas to permanent teeth was dominated by follow-ups, irrespective of the complication status. Only 3% of uncomplicated traumas of permanent teeth resulted in endodontic treatment, compared to 67% with complicated traumas. Uncomplicated traumas to primary teeth required a total of 2.5 visits and 0.8 hrs treatment time, while 4.3 visits and 1.6 hrs per individual were used for complicated traumas. For permanent teeth with uncomplicated traumas 9.2 visits and 3.2 hrs were required, and for complicated traumas 16.4 visits and 8.5 hrs per individual. The respective treatment times for complicated traumas for primary and permanent teeth were 2.0 and 2.7 times higher, compared to the corresponding uncomplicated traumas. There were no gender differences in type of injury and number of visits for injuries to primary and permanent teeth.