Dentists’ Knowledge and Application of the Guidelines for the Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Purpose/Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and to compare the level of general dental practitioners’ (GDPs) knowledge within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding the ways to manage traumatic dental injuries, and to compare their level of knowledge with that of paediatric dentists’ (PDs).

Materials and Methods: A two-part questionnaire consisted of seven questions relating to the participants’ demographic data and alongside thirteen questions demonstrating trauma case scenarios. The questionnaires were distributed among dentists’ electronic mail as well as in two local conferences. A total of 296questionnaires were received and data were statistically analysed to identify GDPs’ knowledge regarding how to manage dental trauma cases, and to henceforth compare the score of GDPs’ knowledge with that of PDs’.

Results: Out of a total top score of 13 the mean score for GDPs’ knowledge was 4.87±1.82 which illustrated poor knowledge. This means that only 37.5% of the total of the 13 questions was answered correctly. The mean knowledge score of paediatric dentists was 5.56±1.47, which is also poor with 42.8% correct answers. However, the difference in knowledge between GDPs and PDs was statistically significant (p-value =0.005).

Conclusions: This survey demonstrates poor knowledge of dental trauma management among the surveyed GDPs as well as PDs, and highlights the need to develop strategies to improve the knowledge base in this area of dentistry.

Keywords: Traumatic dental injuries, knowledge, guidelines, general dental practitioners, paediatric dentists, United Arab Emirates.