Knowledge of emergency management of avulsed teeth: a survey of dentists in Beijing, China

Objectives: There is a high frequency of dental trauma cases in China, where tooth avulsion is one of the most serious scenarios. The knowledge of how to take care of an avulsion is of great importance to the outcome of such an injury. This knowledge among dentists in Beijing, China has never been tested before. The purpose of this study was to evaluate professional experience and knowledge of emergency management of dentists working in urban and suburban areas of Beijing, China. Material and Methods: A two-part questionnaire was distributed to 175 urban and 99 suburban dentists in Beijing. The first part contained personal and professional information of the participating dentists. The second part evaluated dentists' knowledge about the emergency management of avulsed teeth. Data were entered into a SPSS database and analyzed using the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test for each question. Results: All dentists had a college or above degree. Almost five times as many urban dentists compared to suburban dentists presented with a Master or PhD degree. The knowledge levels of the participants presenting with correct answer in the respective knowledge areas were; storage medium (15.8%) intra-canal medication (45.0%), type of splint (45.1%) and splinting period (10.2%). Significantly more urban dentists (50.6%) compared to suburban dentists (34.8%) (P = 0.016), used calcium hydroxide paste as an intracanal medicament, and significantly more urban dentists (51.3%) than suburban dentists (34.1%) chosed a flexible splint (P = 0.008). Conclusion: The results revealed an uneven pattern of knowledge between urban and suburban dentists regarding the emergency management of avulsed teeth. The study highlighted Chinese dentists' need for continuing education in order to improve current knowledge in emergency management of avulsed teeth.