الملخص
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) occur more frequently among school children; therefore, immediate, and appropriate management is required to increase the prognosis rate of the traumatized tooth. Due to their proximity to students, schoolteachers should possess adequate knowledge in the field of TDI.
Aim:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of educational intervention on school teachers’ knowledge of traumatic dental injuries (TDls).
Methodology:
The study included all of the elementary schools (29) in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. Of the initial 538 participants, 497 teachers completed the full-length study. The first assessment (TO) was performed prior to intervention using a four-part questionnaire that evaluated demographics, knowledge, attitudes and self-assessment in relation to TDIs. The questionnaire was followed by a 20-minute lecture presentation featuring various dental trauma scenarios. Each teacher's knowledge was reassessed immediately after the intervention (T1) and three months after the intervention (T2). The data were analysed using the Cochran test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and chi-square test.
Results:
Half of the participants had witnessed dental trauma at least once; however, 96.6% of the participants had not attended any training related to dental trauma prior to the educational intervention. Knowledge regarding first aid management of broken teeth and avulsions was disappointing pre-intervention but was significantly higher post-intervention (p < 0.001).
Following the lecture, participant self-assessments indicated improvement in the ability to appropriately respond to cases of dental trauma as necessary (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
Inadequate knowledge of emergency management of TDI was demonstrated initially. There was a remarkable improvement in the score of overall knowledge of TDI after the educational work shop. Raising the awareness in dental trauma field by conducting regular educational session is crucial for achieving better prognosis.
The following conclusions can be made based on this study’s findings:
This study addresses the impact of education regarding TDI emergency management for non-dental professionals who frequently supervise or care for children in elementary schools of Ras Alkhaima. This is the second study in the UAE that evaluates changes in knowledge regarding emergency management of TDI among school teachers with large sample size A short-term follow-up evaluation after an educational session revealed that knowledge levels increased significantly among teachers, while a long-term follow-up indicated that information retention declined with time.
Recommendations:
-Incorporating educational session into the academic curricula of teachers who may serve as main caregivers is important so that they acquire adequate knowledge throughout their careers regarding management of TDI cases.
-Various TDI educational tools, such as leaflets, posters, lectures and DVDs, should be available to school instructors.
Strength of study:
-The same group was followed for 3 months.
-This is the second interventional research related to dental trauma awareness among school teachers in UAE with large sample size
The limitation of this study:
-Because only the emirate of Ras Alkhaima was included in this study, caution must be considered when generalizing the results beyond the study population.
-Only government schools were included in this study; however, there are several private schools nearby that might have different views regarding the topic under investigation.
-Because many teachers are busy with classes and have short breaks, conducting a paper-based survey was logistically difficult. The third survey was performed using a Google form.
-Other limitations are related to varying interpretations of the survey questions and the difficulty of determining how truthful respondents were.
-Closed-ended questions were used, which could have influenced participant feedback.
