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Chirurgia 2011 February;24(1):5-14

Copyright © 2011 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Dental traumas in pediatric age

Itro A., Lupo G., Itro L., Filipi M., Marra A.

Scuola di Specializzazione in Chirurgia Maxillo-Facciale, Napoli, Italia

Dental traumas are quite frequent pathologies during the age of development, with an incidence around the 30%. They involve above all subjects in puberal age. A lot of surveys have been carried out according to which those kind of damages can be due to a lack of information about traumas and its associated risk factors. Aim of this article was to analyze the existing literature about that topic, with particular attention to risk factors, causes, signs and symptoms of traumas on dental elements affecting subject in the age of development. The study considered all those patients, under our observation in the next 5 years, aged between 1-16 years. About 40% of the patients presented with dental traumas, in 90% of cases there were an association with at least one risk factor. The most frequent risk factors were overjet bigger than 5 mm and the following inappropriate lip coverage (55% of cases). The main part of those traumas rose while playing sport without appropriate protective measures (45% of cases). The most frequently interested elements were upper central incisives (75% of cases); in 55% of cases only one of the central incisive was interested, in 45% of cases both central incisives were interested. Risk factors such as low social class and male sex were also frequently noticed. In the remaining 60% of patients under our observation, that did not present dental traumas, about 35% presented at least one risk factor. Finally, dental trauma frequency is very high in pediatric age, above all in male sex subjects; this clinical experience and literary references show the strict association between dental traumas and risk factors. The authors suggest that it is important to reduce risk factors through a wide prevention campaign to reduce those damages’ incidence.