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Background/aim: Several publications highlight the insufficient knowledge possessed by dentists and dental students regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs). A lack of clinical experience during Undergraduate (UG) education could explain the reported deficits in managing dental trauma post-graduation. Despite its importance in dentistry, there are very few reports on how, where and who teaches Dental Traumatology (DT) in the UG curriculum. The aim of this study was to investigate teaching practices in DT around the world in UG education., Materials and Methods: UG educators involved in DT teaching activities were invited to complete an online questionnaire hosted on Qualtrics®. The survey consisted of close-ended and open-ended questions on their teaching practices in DT. Only one answer per institution was included in the final descriptive analysis., Results: A total of 203 responses from 164 institutions were obtained from 69 countries. All institutions reported that DT is included in their UG curriculum, and is mainly taught within Paediatric Dentistry and Endodontics. Most teaching and evaluation was delivered in traditional format. The number of contact hours dedicated to DT teaching activities ranged from 2 to 185 h (median = 10). Only 35% of institutions had a unified approach across disciplines. DT was taught as a separate course/module in 23% of the universities. Insufficient exposure to emergency care and the lack of formal clinical exposure to TDI was highlighted by many institutions. The need for a core curriculum was supported by 84% of the institutions with agreement on essential topics required at UG level., Conclusions: Teaching practices in DT varied internationally. Very few teaching hours were devoted to DT and many institutions identified a need for increased clinical exposure. There was a desire for a standardised coherent approach to DT in the UG education with suggestions to improve educational resources., (© 2023 The Authors. Dental Traumatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background/aims: Management of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) can be expensive and time-consuming, yet very few studies have addressed the cost of their management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the total cost and the number of visits required to treat dental injuries to permanent incisors in children and adolescents over a 1-year period., Materials and Methods: Ninety-five children with at least one traumatic dental injury to their permanent incisors were enrolled and managed according to the International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines. Injuries were grouped into complex (n = 74) and non-complex injuries (n = 21) and divided by the date of injury. Total cost was the sum of the direct (capital, staff, materials and laboratory fees) and indirect costs (travel, childcare and missed working hours). All data were collected prospectively through hospital records and questionnaires at each visit over one year. Data were analysed using a linear regression model for the cost and the number of visits. Logistic regression was used to analyse differences between complex and non-complex injuries (α = 5%)., Results: The mean total cost for complex and non-complex injuries was €1687.9 and €1350.8, respectively. The treatment of non-complex injuries was cheaper than for complex injuries (P = .047). The cost of follow-up visits 4 years after the injury was significantly lower when compared to the treatment during the first year (P = .002). Travelling longer distances (>50 km) for treatment increased the overall cost of the treatment. There was no difference in the number of visits required for complex (mean = 5.6) and non-complex (mean = 4.9) injuries, but there were significantly fewer visits required in year 4 onwards (P < .001)., Conclusion: Complex injuries presented a higher treatment cost, but the number of visits required was the same when compared to non-complex injuries over the 1-year evaluation. Further research in this area is encouraged to add to the limited available data., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)