Dental Professionals Management of Avulsed Teeth and Implementation of COVID-19 Related Safety Precautions
Author(s): Somaya Abdulrahman*, Khalid Aboalshamat, Arwa Dewedar, Nada Gazzaz and Alaa Almabdi
Abstract
Aim: One of the most common dental problems is oral trauma, which is a great threat to the dental health of children and adolescents. This study aims to improve Saudi dentists’ knowledge of the management of avulsed teeth and the safety precautions necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The 403 participants, who were from Saudi Arabia, were recruited through social media. The data were collected by a questionnaire that assessed their knowledge about managing avulsed teeth. Significance was set at p=0.05. Results: The mean score for the correct answers to 22 questions to assess clinical knowledge about avulsed teeth was 15.26 (SD=3.48). According to the responses, 93.3% knew that an avulsed permanent tooth can be replanted, 72.2% indicated that an avulsed primary tooth can be replanted, 63.8% were aware of the best splinting materials, and 58.3% knew the optimal splinting duration. Only 29.8% indicated knowledge about the most recent (2020) International Association for Dental Traumatology guidelines for avulsed permanent teeth. The mean score for the correct answers to the four questions about the management of avulsed teeth during the COVID-19 pandemic was 3.27 (SD=1.02). Conclusion: Saudi dental professionals were found to have moderate levels of knowledge about the management of tooth avulsion. The answers to the COVID-19-related questions revealed good knowledge about managing avulsed teeth during the pandemic. Health campaigns or online lectures would be helpful in improving dentists’ knowledge about managing avulsed teeth.