ABSTRACT

Objective:The primary aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effects of home accidents(HAs) on the traumatic dental injuries(TDIs) of primary teeth. Furthermore, the secondary aim was to bring attention to the importance of preventive measures for HAs, especially in this pandemic period where children all over the world spend most of their time in their homes due to coronavirus(COVID-19) disease.

Material and Methods:The records of the patients with TDIs of the primary teeth, aged 6 months-8 years, who applied to the xxxxxxxxxUniversity, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pedodontics, between the years 2000¬2010 and yyyyyyyyUniversity, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pedodontics, between the years 2012–2019 were investigated.

Results:The sample consisted of 504 children that had TDIs to the primary teeth. The age range of the children was 1–8 years(3.5±1.8years old) and 37.3%(n=188) of the patients were girls and 62.7%(n=316) boys. The prevalence of the TDIs due to HAs was found to be 43.25%(n=218). A total of 380 teeth in the 218 patients who were found to have TDIs due to HAs were examined. The highest prevalence of traumatized children was in the age range 2-4 years(63.3%). Collisions with objects(45%) were found to be most common causes of dental trauma and the most common type of injury was found to be lateral luxation(35.8%).

Conclusions:Measures to prevent HAs should primarily target preschool children, the riskiest group. Accidents can be largely prevented by taking simple precautions such as providing a safe environment for children's healthy mental and physical development at home.