Parental knowledge regarding emergency management of traumatic tooth avulsion in chidern in northern Iran (2015-2016)

Background and Objective: Avulsion of permanent teeth is a common emergency condition in pediatric dentistry. The prognosis of avulsed teeth depends on the appropriate and efficient approach of unprofessional persons such as the parents and school teachers who are present at the incident site, prior to the professional dental visit. This study was done to evaluate the parental knowledge regarding emergency management of traumatic tooth avulsion in north of Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed on 264 parents (76.8% mothers and 23.2% fathers) of children aged 6 to 12 years old whom referred to Ayatollah Taleghani Hospital in Gonbad-e-Kavoos a twon in Golestan Provinece, northern Iran during 2015-16. The subjects were interviewed using a questionnaire form with 11 objective questions. The questionnaire included personal information and parental knowledge about traumatic tooth avulsion. Results: 84.8% of parents had insufficient knowledge. The father`s and mother`s knowledge rate was 13.3% and 16%, respectively. There was no significant association between educational levels, age or gender and knowledge rate.80.8% of subjects did not received education about how to react after traumatic tooth avulsion. Conclusion: Parental knowledge regarding emergency management of traumatic tooth avulsion is very low. Considering the irreversible consequences of this injury in delayed management, increasing parental knowledge is necessary.