Should medical students be educated about dental trauma emergency management? A study of physicians and dentists in Kerman Province, Iran.

Since physicians sometimes need to attend a case of dental trauma, it is necessary that they possess sufficient knowledge of management of traumatic dental emergencies. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of dental trauma among dentists and physicians. A three-part questionnaire, including demographic data, knowledge, and self-assessment, was administered to 104 dentists and 151 physicians in Kerman Province, Iran. Data obtained from 255 completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed using t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Among the physicians, only fourteen (9.3 percent) had received education regarding dental trauma. In contrast, seventy-seven dentists (74 percent) had received information on what to do if a tooth is traumatized. Regarding knowledge level, only 10.6 percent of the physicians had high knowledge, while 66.3 percent of the dentists demonstrated high knowledge. The differences of knowledge level between the two groups were statistically significant (p=0.0001). More than half of the dentists (58.3 percent) and nearly all the physicians (98.7 percent) were dissatisfied with their level of knowledge and suggested that further education on the topic should be offered.