The prevalence of traumatic injuries to permanent incisors and their distribution according to type and some clinical factors, were analysed in a total population of 2798 patients, aged 6-21 years, examined over a 5-year period in the Dental Clinic of the University of Verona, Italy. The material consisted of case histories and radiograms taken during the examination of injured teeth. The number of injured patients was 178 (131 males and 47 females), the number of injured incisors was 326. The prevalence of injuries was 7.3%. A very large number of dental injuries occurred to children aged between 6 and 13 years. The ratio of boys to girls was 2.7:1. Most frequent causes of injuries were falls and traffic accidents. Most injuries involved two teeth. About 80% of the teeth were maxillary central incisors. The most common type of injury was non complicated crown fracture. In 87 cases (48%) there was an associated injury to soft tissue. Alveolar fractures occurred in 22 cases (12%). Traumas involving periodontal ligament constituted nearly 40% of the total. This study noted the following points: 1) preventive education programs should be instituted in the region, directed at parents and school teachers, to inform them about the problems of dental trauma and to obtain cooperative attitude to treatment and good motivation in controls; 2) the necessity to unify the diagnostic and therapeutic protocol to provide reliable information in clinical investigations, to permit valid comparison with other studies and to improve the long-term prognosis of many cases.

No abstract

A follow-up study of crown fractured permanent incisors with incomplete root formation was carried out in a group of patients, aged 6-12 years, over a 5-year period in the Dental Clinic of the University of Verona, Italy. The number of injured patients was 55, representing 84 injured incisors. All patients were followed clinically and radiographically using a standardized follow-up protocol. The most common type of trauma was fracture of enamel and dentine without pulpal exposure (80%) and the most common type of treatment was restoration with the acid-etch composite resin technique (46%). Bonding of the crown fragment was performed in 10 instances (12%). At the 5-year-control all teeth with fracture of the enamel had no pulp complications. Four of 67 teeth (6%) with fracture of the enamel and dentine without pulpal involvement showed pulp necrosis and 1 tooth showed pulp obliteration (1.5%). Eight of 14 teeth (57%) with fractures of the enamel and dentine with pulp involvement showed pulp necrosis. Aesthetically 36 of the restored teeth were deemed satisfactory (43%). In 9 teeth the bonded fragment had to be rebonded. 14 teeth were considered unsatisfactorily restored due to wear of the composite (17%). 34 restored teeth had to be retreated because of a new trauma (40%). In one tooth a previous bonded fragment had to be rebonded. These results confirmed that crown fractures without pulp involvement in permanent incisors with incomplete root formation hav a low percentage of pulp complications, while 60% of the teeth with crown fractures with pulp involvement had pulp complications.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract