Traumatic dental injuries are emergencies that must be treated
promptly and properly in order to reduce the suffering, costs,
and time for patients, parents, and health care providers. The
aim of this study was to investigate the treatment, long-term
prognosis, and number of visits needed to manage cases resulting
from complications of late presentation of traumatic dental
injuries. The sample consisted of 195 children, all presented
with complications of dental trauma at the Pediatric Dentistry
Clinics in the Dental Teaching Hospital of Jordan
University of Science and Technology in Irbid city,
Jordan. Retrospective data relied on trauma forms as well
the clinical notes and radiographs in the patients' records.
Prospective data was collected by examining patients at recall
appointments. The treatment of traumatized teeth in this sample
ranged from no active treatment to extraction and prosthetic
replacement. It was estimated that the number of visits needed
to carry out the planned treatment for these patients ranged
between 3 and 17.2 visits according to the type of treatment.
Apexification procedure was the most time consuming. Thirty-two
per cent of teeth with apexification ended up with root fracture
mainly subsequent to another minor trauma episode (in 85%), the
rest were reported to be spontaneous fractures. Almost half of
the teeth with luxation injuries became necrotic after 3 years.
Teeth with avulsion actually kept on deteriorating even at the
36-month follow-up appointment. The long-term prognosis of teeth
with middle root fracture was favorable in (80%) of the teeth in
the sample, despite the fact that they were splinted late.
Luxation injuries led to more necrotic teeth (50%) than
uncomplicated crown fractures. Multiple dental trauma episodes (MDTE)
were reported in about 30% of the patients in the sample and
were responsible for some of the complications noticed in this
report. As all cases followed up in this report are late
presentation of dental trauma, the findings may emphasize and
highlight predictors for healing and favorable long-term
prognosis for such injuries. This will help selecting the
treatment option that would lead to better outcomes with less
expense and less time consumption for dentists and patients
alike. The findings of this report also stress the importance of
prevention of dental trauma and minimize its complications
through proper treatment, educational programs, supervision of
children during play, use of mouth guards, and orthodontic
treatment of proclined incisors.
Institution
Preventive Dentistry Department, Jordan University
of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan. suhadj@just.edu.jo
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