EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF RELAYED MANAGEMENT OF TRAUMATIZED PERMANENT TEETH

This investigation studied the complication that could arise from dela yed management of traumatized permanent teeth. Patients reported to th e primary care clinic at the College of Dentistry, King Saud Universit y, seeking treatment of traumatized anterior teeth were evaluated. Est hetic consideration (64 patients) and pain, swelling, or discomforts ( 50 patients) were the main reasons the patients came to the clinic. Cl inical and radiographic examinations, as well as history of the trauma , were recorded. It was found that most of the patients had a treatmen t delay exceeding I month. Initial pulp exposure resulted in 100% pulp necrosis. When a fracture involved both enamel and dentin, the freque ncy of pulp necrosis was 53%. External root resorption and pulp calcif ication were seen in few teeth. It was concluded that the figures for pulp necrosis could be misleading, because there might have been a bia s when only patients with problems sought treatment. In addition, a tr auma awareness educational program should be developed to encourage pa rents and the public to seek immediate dental treatment. Furthermore, a proper diagnostic test for pulp and periodontal complication should be done in patients with initially nontreated dental injuries.