A cross-sectional study on awareness regarding management of dental trauma among clinical dental students and interns

Abstract Introduction: Dental trauma could lead to separation or crushing of the dental supporting tissues and esthetic and functional disorders. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma among clinical dental students and interns in Benin City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study utilized a self-administered questionnaire containing 15 closed and open-ended questions to garner data focused on sociodemograhic characteristics and awareness of the management of traumatic dental injury, from respondents. Data from 95 respondents were statistically analyzed and both univariate and bivariate analyses were used in this study. Results: A significant proportion; 77 (81.1%) had a poor overall knowledge of management, although most respondents had knowledge of some of the steps involved in emergency management of dental trauma. The association between respondents’ level of education and their knowledge of the management of dental trauma was found to be statistically significant ( P = 0.0001). Respondents at higher level in their dental training were found to have better overall knowledge compared to those at lower levels. Conclusion: The knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma among the respondents was poor. This was associated with the level of study and clinical exposure.