BackgroundThis study aims to cross-culturally adapt the original English-language COHIP-SF 19 to Arabic culture and to test its psychometric properties in a community sample.MethodsThe Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was developed and its psychometric properties were examined in a population-based sample of 876 schoolchildren who were aged 12 years of age, in Benghazi, Libya. The Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was tested for its internal consistency, reproducibility, construct validity, factorial validity and floor as well as ceiling effects. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the mean scores of COHIP-SF 19 by participants’ caries status and self-reported oral health rating, satisfaction and treatment need.ResultsThe Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was successfully and smoothly developed. It showed an acceptable level of equivalence to the original version. Overall, the internal consistency and reproducibility were acceptable to excellent, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84 and an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.76. All hypotheses predefined to test construct validity were confirmed. That is, children who had active dental caries, and who rated their oral health as poor, were not satisfied with their oral health or indicated the need of treatment had lower COHIP-SF 19 scores (P < 0.05). Floor or ceiling effects were not observed. The exploratory Factorial analysis suggested a 4-component solution and deletion of one item.ConclusionThe Arabic COHIP-SF 19 was successfully developed. The measure demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity to estimate OHRQoL in a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren.

Background/Aims No previous epidemiological study has investigated the prevalence and associated factors of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) among Libyan children. Such information is required for the planning and evaluation of health services. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of TDIs and associated factors among 12‐year‐old schoolchildren in Benghazi, Libya. Methods Data for this study were collected as part of a comprehensive, cross‐sectional survey investigating oral health status and treatment needs of 12‐year‐old schoolchildren in Benghazi, Libya, between December 2016 and May 2017. Sociodemographic information was collected through a dental health questionnaire. The children were assessed for oral health status, including TDIs according to modified World Health Organization (WHO) classification criteria, in their classroom by trained and calibrated examiners. Anthropometric measures, lip competence and overjet were all assessed and reported. History of TDIs was sought among those affected. Logistic regression models were applied for TDIs as an outcome variable. The statistical significance for all tests was ≤0.05. Results Data from 1134 participants were included in this study. TDIs were observed in 10.3% of the sample. Most of these TDIs were enamel fractures only (55.6%) and enamel and dentine fractures (35.9%). “Falling” was the most common cause of TDIs, accounting for 51% of cases. While increased overjet appeared to be associated with higher risk of TDIs (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.29‐2.86), being female (OR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.22‐0.53) and overweight (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13‐0.83) were also associated with lower risk of having TDIs. Conclusions This survey showed that a considerable proportion (10.3%) of 12‐year‐old Libyan children had TDIs, with relatively high unmet treatment needs. More efforts are required to develop effective prevention programmes and to enhance the provision of dental treatment of TDIs for Libyan children.

Background and aims Despite the high incidence rate of dental trauma and its possible devastating physical and psychological consequences on children, little is known about sport‐related dental trauma and its prevention and management among Libyan sports coaches. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of Benghazi contact sports coaches regarding sport‐related dental trauma and its prevention and management. Methods A cross‐sectional study design was used. Two hundred and thirty‐one contact sports coaches were recruited from different public and private youth sports centers across Benghazi. The data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire translated into Arabic and piloted to evaluate its validity and clarity. In addition, Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and χ 2 tests were used to check associations between the variables. Results A total of 151 contact sports coaches returned a completed questionnaire; the majority of coaches (74%) have seen orofacial injuries during their coaching career, whereas less than half of them (47%) personally experienced these injuries. Only one participant said he would preserve the tooth in milk, and four indicated that they would replant it. Most coaches (89.4%) knew what a mouthguard is, but 53.6% would recommend its use, and these were more likely to have previously used mouthguards ( p ≤ 0.001). About 41.1% received previous training on TDIs‐related emergencies. Higher knowledge scores were observed among coaches who previously received training ( p = 0.023). Conclusion The findings of this study indicate low awareness of how to manage and prevent orofacial injuries among Libyan contact sports coaches, even though they commonly encounter these injuries and believe in mouthguards' effectiveness. Previous training on managing emergencies and experience appeared to influence the coaches' knowledge. Training coaches on preventing TDIs and their early management in sports fields should be an implemented policy and a prerequisite to obtaining a training license.