Background/Aims
Electric‐Powered Bikes and powered scooters present a new method of transportation and are becoming commonly used worldwide. However, the reports on traumatic dental injuries related to their use are scarce. The aim of this study was to report the frequency and severity of dental and maxillofacial injuries associated with electric‐powered bikes and scooters in Israel between the years 2014 and 2019.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study based on data from the Israeli National Trauma Registry (INTR). The INTR provides comprehensive data on hospitalized patients from all six Level I trauma centers (TC) and 15 of the 20 Level II TCs in Israel. All injured patients who were hospitalized due to a traffic collision between 2014 and 2019 were identified. The data for those hospitalized due to an e‐bike or motorized scooter accident were extracted as well as for pedestrians who were injured as a result of a crash with these vehicles.
Results
A total of 3,686 hospital admissions were related to electric‐powered bikes and scooters. Of those, 378 (10.3%) were oral and maxillofacial injuries. Most of the oral and maxillofacial injuries were attributed to powered bikes (321 out of 378; 84.92%) and the rest to powered scooters. There was a constant increase in general as well as the oral and maxillofacial injuries during the study years. Almost 20% of the cases involved injuries to the teeth. Overall, 291 pedestrians were reported to be injured due to electric‐powered bikes and scooters; 29 (9.97%) of them, suffered from oral and maxillofacial injuries. Most of those were children aged 0‐15 years (41.38%) and elders older than 60 years (37.39%).
Conclusions
Trauma related to electric‐powered bikes and scooters is an increasing concern. Dental professionals should be actively involved in educational and legislative efforts focusing on the prevention of e‐bike and scooter‐related injuries, in general, and specifically maxillofacial injuries.
To evaluate the frequency and causes of dental and maxillofacial trauma in hospitalized patients. From January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2003, data from hospitalized trauma patients in a level 1 trauma center in Israel were analyzed according to age, gender, time, place, and cause of injury. Maxillofacial and tooth injuries were separated and further analyzed according to the above parameters. The analysis was based on data from the Israel Trauma Registry (ITR). Of all 14 040 trauma patients, 1038 (7.4%) involved maxillofacial or dental injuries. Common causes of injury were motor vehicle crashes (41%), falls (27%) and intentional injuries (23%). Fifty percent occurred on the street/road, 17% at home and 14% in public buildings. Surgery was required in 55.5% of all maxillofacial injuries. Males were hospitalized three times more than females, and young people, ages 19-28, were at greatest risk (30.2%). Oral and maxillofacial trauma is common, requiring dental health training for primary caregivers.
Maxillofacial injuries are a significant cause of morbidity and demand meticulously planned treatment. The aim of this present multi-center study was to evaluate the occurrence of dento-alveolar and maxillofacial injuries over a 5-year period. A retrospective cohort study of data from the Israel Trauma Registry was conducted for the years 2000-2004. The registry includes all trauma patients admitted and hospitalized due to an injury. Of the 111,010 hospitalized trauma patients, 5886 (5.3%) were diagnosed with maxillofacial or dental injuries. The main causes of injuries for hospitalized trauma patients were falls (48.1%) and motor vehicle accidents (25.2%), while the major causes of facial and dental injuries were vehicle accidents (39.6%, 56.8%, respectively) and falls (32.1%, 26.7%, respectively). High-risk age groups for dental and facial trauma were 10-18 years and 19-28 years, respectively, while for other trauma, ages for the greatest risk ranged from 0 to 9 years and over 59 years. Males were injured two to three times more frequently than females. A better understanding of the etiology of maxillofacial and dental injuries and identifying the high-risk groups should lead to appropriate prevention programs and treatment methods.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.