ABSTRACT
The aim of the present paper was the study of prevalence of traumatic dental injuries to the anterior teeth of Italian schoolchildren. 519, 6- to 11-year-old children from two primary schools in Rome were examined, in order to evaluate dental injuries on canines and incisors. Traumatic injuries were classified according to Garcia-Godoy et al.; this classification is the most appropriate for retrospective studies. Dental injury prevalence was 21.0%, this value was higher than values shown by surveys made in the emergency services, but similar to those of other retrospective studies made in other countries. Male/female ratio was 1.69, statistically significant at 99% level. The age distribution showed that the higher prevalence was among the 9 year-old children (26.9%), the lower among the 8-year-old children (14.3%); the 9 year-old incidence value was the highest. 74.6% of the teeth involved were maxillary central incisors. Enamel fractures were the most frequent trauma type (67.0%), followed by enamel-dentine fractures (19.3%) and concussions (8.3%). No serious fracture was found. Play was the major dental trauma cause (64.2%), followed by sports (17.4%). 16.5% of traumatized children and their parents did not report the cause. Traffic accidents were not reported as causes. In conclusion, the high prevalence of dental traumas in schoolchildren, involving more than one fifth of subjects, is emphasized. Most of traumas were, however, slight, so that sometimes the cause was not reported. Serious dental injuries were more uncommon. Traffic accidents and violent impacts, which often cause these traumas, were also uncommon.
