CLINICAL INVESTIGATION OF TRAUMATIC INJURIES OF PERMANENT INCISORS INIZMIR, TURKIYE

4-70 injured teeth of 370 patients who consulted the Dental Clinic of Ege University, Izmir, Turkiye for examination of treatment between 19 81-1993 were evaluated. Information concerning sex, age of patients at the time of injury, cause of trauma, number of injured teeth, type of tooth and type of trauma were recorded. More boys suffered traumatic injuries (64.8%) than girls (35.2%). Patients aged 11-15 years old exh ibited the highest number of injuries (37.4%) followed by the 6-10 yea rs old group (24.5%). Most injuries involved one tooth (60%) and maxil lary central incisors were the most often affected teeth (66.2%). The leading cause of injury was undefined falls (45.1%). The most common t ype of trauma was non-complicated crown fracture (40.4%). At the initi al examination, cases seen after a long posttraumatic period showed mo re complications than those presented within a short time period. Educ ational programs about the importance of dental trauma, ways of preven ting from trauma, the benefits of immediate attendance and conservatio n of avulsed and fractured teeth would be very helpful for patients. A dditionally improving the knowledge of the dental practitioner about t rauma would be another important point in solving the problem.