Occurrence of traumatic injuries in the oromaxillary region of children in a Japanese prefecture

Abstract

The authors conducted a survey by sending questionnaires to school‐aged boys (7966) and girls (7856) in Kumamoto Prefecture, to study the actual condition of traumatic injuries of teeth and in the maxillary and mandibular regions by comparing the results with those reported by others. An average of 21.8% of the pupils suffered from some kind of trauma in the oral region. It was also found that 37.7% of the traumas resulted from falls and 29.2% from sporting activities. Tooth luxation and fractures accounted for a relatively high percentage of the tooth injuries: 17.3% for the former and 6.9% for the latter, while exarticulation was only 1.6%. Of the total number of traumas, only 12.9% were treated at hospitals or dental clinics. The rest were left untreated.