Teeth and Soft Tissue Injuries as Well as Wound Healing Quality Patterns Among Primary School Students of Prishtina Region

The aim of this study is to analyze and record the frequency and distribution of Traumatic Dental Injuries (TDI) and soft tissue injuries treated at the Emergency Department among children with various head and neck trauma. Furthermore, the quality of soft tissue healing and its impact on public oral health is described through Pediatric Health-related quality of life index (POQL Index). This prospective interventional study was carried out at the Emergency Department of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo and University Clinical Dentistry Center between September 2017 and September of 2018 (as a part of broader clinical research) exploring the prevalence of TDI among schoolchildren at public schools (III – IX grade) in urban and suburban areas of the Prishtina Region, Kosovo. In our study 124 with various head and neck trauma are treated in the ED, and 16 children are diagnosed with fractured teeth and injured soft tissue structures. Categorized data testing was done with the X2 test or the exact Fisher test. Testing quantitative data with normal distribution with t-test or One Way ANOVA, and those without normal distribution with Mann-Whitney test. The difference is significant if P <0.05. The most fractured tooth was the left first incisor (D21) in 50 % of cases followed by the right central incisor (D 11) in 25 % of cases and second left incisor (D 22) with 12.5 %, respectfully. Male subjects had more complicated wound healing compare to female participants in our study but there was no discrepancy with significant statistical difference in the quality of healing in children with gender-based injury differentiation (X2 = 1.342, P = 0.511). The average value of the POQL index in children included in our research was 33.9% (DS ± 16.9%), the range 11.0-87.0%. The average value of the POQL index in injured children involved in this research was 38.8% (DS ± 19.0%), range 14.0-69.0%. The average value of the POQL index for non-injured children included in our study was 33.1% (DS ± 16.6%), range 11.0-87.0%. Data obtained from this study and methodology enables the dental professionals to address the problem of inconsistent procedure protocols in ED and the immanent need for gathering contribution data which will help the institutions to make preventive measures and early interventions. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2020; 13(2): 689-696)