Traumatic dental injuries to permanent anterior teeth in 12 - 15 year old children in Nairobi

Objective: To determine the prevalence and pattern of occurrence of traumatic injuries to permanent anterior teeth.Design: A descriptive cross-sectional survey.Setting: Public primary schools in the City of Nairobi.Subjects: A sample of 1382 children (672 males and 710 females) were interviewed and examined.Results: Among the 1382 children examined, 222(16.1%) had experienced traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). Males had experienced a significantly higher prevalence of trauma 126(18.8%) than females 96(13.5%) p=0.008. Falls were the leading cause of TDIs as reported by 78(35.1%) children. Amongst the, male children, falls were the leading cause of traumatic injuries to the permanent anterior teeth 47(37.3%). Approximately half 43(44.8%) of the females did not remember the cause of injury while 31 (36.5%) had sustained TDIs due to falls. One hundred and seventy two (77.5%) children who had experienced TDIs had no symptoms associated with the traumatised teeth. Ninety six (43.2%) of the children were injured while in the home environment. The maxillary central incisors were the most commonly traumatised teeth accounting for 220(73.5%) out of 299 injured teeth. The most frequently observed type of dental trauma was enamel fracture 206(68.9%) followed by enamel-dentin fracture 71(23.8%). Two hundred (90%) children had not sought treatment for TDIs.Conclusion: Overall traumatised permanent incisors were found to occur fairly frequently with males having experienced significantly more TDIs than females. The prevalence of TDIs was 16.1%; enamel fractures were the most frequently observed injury and falls were the leading cause of trauma