Traumatised primary teeth in Nigerian children attending University Hospital: the consequences of delays in seeking treatment.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the occurrence, causes, types and severity of trauma to primary teeth in a hospital population, and to evaluate the interval between injury and treatment. The records of 1809 children treated in a two year period at the Ibadan University College Hospital were reviewed. There were 122 children aged one to seven years, with the highest frequency of trauma in the four and five year age groups, with no significant difference between boys and girls. Falls (88 per cent) were the commonest cause, and 57 children (47 per cent) had two injuries per episode of trauma. The majority (94 per cent) were luxation injuries and 6 per cent were fractures. Eighty-nine per cent of the injuries affected the maxilla, and the maxillary central incisors were the most frequently affected teeth, accounting for 68 per cent of all injuries. Only 11 per cent of the injuries presented for treatment on the day of trauma, while 10 per cent presented later than one year after trauma. The results suggest that the parents of these children with dental trauma do not bring the children for early treatment. The findings underscore a need to improve oral health awareness in general, but more importantly they emphasise that parents should obtain treatment for their children as soon as possible following any episode of dental trauma.