AN INVESTIGATION OF DENTOALVEOLAR TRAUMA AND ITS TREATMENT IN AN ADOLESCENT POPULATION .2. DENTISTS KNOWLEDGE OF MANAGEMENT METHODS AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF BARRIERS TO PROVIDING CARE

Aim To assess dentists' knowledge of and perceived barriers; to treatm ent of dental injuries. Design Cross-sectional postal questionnaire an d personal interview. Subjects and methods Questionnaires from 153 GDP s and 53 CDOs were received giving details of emergency options on 17 imaginary dental injuries and perceived barriers to treatment of traum a. Structured interviews with 21 of the GDPs and 19 CDOs seeking knowl edge on diagnosis and long-term follow-up and treatment took place. Ag e and gender of dentist, type of practice and postgraduate courses att ended were noted. Main outcome measures Mean knowledge scores. Results Of a maximum of 14 correct responses on emergency treatment of injure d teeth the mean was 7.5. Only 19% knew for how long avulsed teeth sho uld be splinted. Of a maximum of 37 correct responses on long-term fol low-up of treatment the mean was 15.4. Only 10% would correctly treat acute abscess on a traumatised tooth. 82% of dentists thought dental t rauma should be treated:in the primary care service, but 86% of GDPs t hought fees for this type of treatment were too low. 72% of CDOs thoug ht the treatment occupied too much clinic time and was not the respons ibility of the CDS. Conclusions Dentists in the primary care sector ha ve insufficient knowledge to treat dental trauma.