Dental and oral trauma during childhood and adolescence in Israel: occurrence, causes, and outcomes.

The occurrence and causes of oral and dental injuries in a young Israeli population during childhood and adolescence were evaluated, as well as participants' awareness of using protective devices, such as mouth guards, during sporting activities. The survey consisted of 427 young adults, aged 18-21 years. A questionnaire was distributed relating to past oral and dental injuries over their lifetime; type of sporting activity practiced, specifying time, place and cause of injury; and use and awareness of protective devices. Participants who reported to be injured were asked to report the type of their injury, treatment provided, and satisfaction with the results. The total number of dental and oral injuries was 133, affecting 31.1% of the participants, in which 72 (16.9%) suffered dental injuries, mostly because of falls (64%), followed by sporting activities (23.2%), street-fights (7.2%), and car accidents (5.6%). Injuries occurred at school in 36.5% of cases and at home in 23.8% of cases. The most frequently reported injury was laceration (47.3%) followed by tooth fracture (41.9%). Of the 427 participants, 239 (56%) were active in at least one type of sport. Only 22.6% were aware of protective devices, e.g. mouth guards, and only 2.8% actually used these devices. These results show the high risk of potential dental and oral injury during childhood and adolescence, a lack of knowledge regarding the benefits of mouth guards and their limited use. Increased awareness of protective measures and devices, and their actual use should be encouraged with public health education.

Self-assessed dental status, oral behavior, DMF, and dental anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between self-assessed dental status, oral behavior, dental anxiety, and DMF scores. The study was conducted among young army personnel (eighteen to twenty-one years old) who arrived at a single military dental clinic for dental screening. A questionnaire was used to collect the data anonymously. The questionnaire included self-assessment of dental status and behavior, as well as the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS). Dental caries status was evaluated using the World Health Organization (WHO) caries diagnostic criteria for decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT). A total of 393 young adults were examined (98.3 percent response rate). Approximately one-third brushed their teeth once a day or not at all. Of the participants, 10.7 percent assessed their dental status as "Poor" and 46.3 percent as "Fair." Furthermore, 25.5 percent assessed their dental treatment needs as high. The average DAS score was 7.14. The average DMF score was 6.2. There was a correlation between self-reported tooth status, participants' assessment of their dental treatment needs, and DMF score (p<0.0001). Anxious participants assessed their dental treatment needs as higher (p=0.05). The dental practitioner could ask patients to assess their dental status prior to treatment or appointment. These findings will help the practitioner to accomplish more effective time and patient management.