Assessment of traffic police personnel knowledge and attitudes about immediate emergency management of traumatic dental injuries-a cross-sectional study

Kanamarlapudi Venkata Saikiran; Deepa Gurunathan; Karthik Anchala; Sainath Reddy Elicherla; Niharika Reddy Elicherla; Sivakumar Nuvvula

doi:10.17126/joralres.2024.033

Kanamarlapudi Venkata Saikiran Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4949-9693
Deepa Gurunathan Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6014-946X
Karthik Anchala Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6850-4948
Sainath Reddy Elicherla Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6965-5262
Niharika Reddy Elicherla Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. http://orcid.org/0009-0008-6053-7412
Sivakumar Nuvvula Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1204-5551

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17126/joralres.2024.033

Keywords: Police, Tooth, Knowledge, Awareness, Surveys and Questionnaires, Education

Abstract

Aim: The provision of prehospital emergency care in develo-ping nations is limited due to resource limitations, such as a shortage of trained first aid staff, resulting in reliance on untrained individuals. To avoid potential consequences following dental trauma due to road traffic accidents, traffic police personnel play an important role for first aid management. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge and attitude about emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) among traffic police personnel during road traffic accidents.
Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sec-tional study was conducted among 98 traffic police personnel from October 2022 to December 2022. A 15-item self-designed questionnaire was prepared using the standardized focus group discussion method. The survey gathered data on first aid training, and time and management of fractured, displaced, and avulsed teeth, followed by statistical analysis.
Results: Of a total score of 15, the mean knowledge score for traffic police personnel was 4.12±1.16. Almost 87.76% of respondents reported an injury during road traffic accidents. Only 27.55% have learned the management of dental injuries in first-aid training. 43.88% said that the fractured part of the tooth is useless, and 88.78% do not have sufficient knowledge to save the completely displaced tooth. 38.78% preferred a cloth piece to pick out knocked-out teeth. Only 34.70% considered milk as the storage medium for the avulsed teeth.
Conclusion: This study suggests that there needs to be better knowledge among the traffic police personnel regarding procedures to follow in an emergency related to TDIs, which indicates a high need for further training to improve the knowledge among them.

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