Management of traumatic dental injury among otolaryngologists in Southwestern Mainland China: a cross-sectional observational survey.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine otolaryngologists' attitudes and knowledge regarding the management of traumatic dental injury (TDI) encountered when patients present at the emergency department or during procedures such as tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy and suspension laryngoscopic surgery, as well as their motivation for pursuing additional education in this area. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational survey involving otolaryngologists selected from multiple hospitals across Sichuan province was carried out in this study. The questionnaire, consisting of 31 questions, was segmented into three sections: demographic data (10 items), knowledge about the management of TDI (17 items), and attitudes toward acquiring dental trauma education (4 items). Descriptive analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Mann-Whitney U test and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In the analysis, a total of 214 surveys were included, with over half of the participants (60.3%) having experienced at least one TDI case in their practice, whereas four in ten (39.7%) reported never encountering any cases. Participants who had a longer duration of practice were more likely to have a large caseload on the TDI (chi2 = 29.44, p < 0.001). 71% of participants experienced TDI during the perioperative period; however, only 6/214 participants (2.8%) responded correctly to all three questions about emergency management of TDI, and nearly all participants (98.1%) chose to refer TDI patients to a dentist. The majority of participants (91.1%) stated that they had not received any training on TDI, and 94.4% were willing to receive TDI-related education. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study highlight the inadequate knowledge of otolaryngologists in southwestern mainland China regarding the management of TDI. Furthermore, the results indicate a strong interest among otolaryngologists in pursuing further training, which could help meet the educational needs necessary for providing appropriate management of TDI patients. Hence, it is imperative to provide targeted training courses to ensure prompt and appropriate TDI treatment, thereby minimizing the associated medical and societal costs.