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EVALUATING THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS TOWARDS MANAGEMENT
OF TRAUMATIC DENTAL INJURIES IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF HOSPITAL
SERDANG
NMRR-19-4018-51489

Shanthini D, Vilashni N

Introduction: Several studies have proved that prompt and correct emergency
management of traumatised teeth is essential for attaining the best outcome after this
injury as it greatly influences the long-term prognosis of the teeth. In the Accident and
Emergency (A&E) department of hospital, the medical practitioners are often the first to
assess dental and dento-alveolar injuries. As such, for a good long-term prognosis of
restored dental aesthetics and function, early diagnosis and appropriate management by
the emergency department medical practitioners before referring the cases to a
dentist/dental specialist for continuing care is essential. Objective: To assess the
knowledge of the emergency department medical practitioners on the management of
traumatic dental injuries. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was
conducted in August 2020 involving 60 medical practitioners in the Emergency Department
of Hospital Serdang, Selangor using a close ended questionnaire of 27 items which were
adapted from the previously conducted studies. Results: The response rate of this study
was 100%. Of those, less than half (40%) were reported to have good knowledge while 60%
of practitioners with poor knowledge on basic management of traumatic dental injuries. A
majority (73.8%) knew the importance of the extra oral time of an avulsed tooth and only
20% felt the urgency to refer to the dentist within 30 minutes. Less than half (41.7%)
perceived the best storage media for an avulsed tooth is a bowl of ice cubes instead of milk
or saliva. The majority of the practitioners showed a positive attitude and were interested
to get educated on the management of traumatic dental injuries. The majority of
emergency department medical practitioners in this study were experiencing a deficiency
knowledge in managing the traumatic dental injuries cases. However, they willing to equip
themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to effectively respond to an
emergency when needed. Conclusion: It is recommended that the traumatic dental injuries
flow charts be incorporated in the medical emergencies guidelines flow charts and be
placed In the Accident and emergency (A&E) department of hospital for quick reference
and early diagnosis prior to referring the cases to a dentist/dental specialist.

Oral presentation at the Malaysian Association of Paediatric Dentistry Scientific Virtual Conference 2021 on 14 March
th
2021
Dr Shanthini Devi Subramaniam
Dr Vilashni Nair Mathavan
Department of Paediatric Dentistry
Serdang Hospital

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