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Prevalence and Causes of Oral Injuries in a Population of Canadian Adults Aged 18 to 50 Years ‐ A Brief Communication
Author(s) -
Locker David
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2006.tb02570.x
Subject(s) - medicine , injury prevention , telephone interview , poison control , telephone survey , population , age groups , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , dentistry , demography , physical therapy , gerontology , medical emergency , environmental health , social science , pathology , marketing , sociology , business
Objective: To determine the prevalence and causes of injuries to the mouth and teeth among adults aged 18 to 50 years in Ontario, Canada. Methods: 2001 individuals in the target age range participated in a telephone interview survey based on random digit dialling. Results: Overall, 15.5% of subjects reported a history of injury with 5.4% having multiple episodes of injury. One third of the injuries occurred in adulthood. The majority (85.0%) with a history of trauma reported damage to the teeth and of these, 26.0% broke one or more teeth, 25.4% reported one or more teeth being knocked out and 6.5% reported displacement of teeth. The most common cause of injury was playing sports, followed by collisions and falls. Violence accounted for 10.0% of the injuries reported. The causes of injury varied according to gender; education and the age at which the injury occurred. Conclusion: Oral and dental injuries occur throughout the lifespan, although the causes appear to vary according to the age at which they happen.