[Dentoalveolar trauma. Analysis of 4763 patients with 6237 injuries in 10 years].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall place of dental trauma in facial injuries. This was a retrospective investigation based on the analysis of a large amount of dentoalveolar injuries over a 10-year period.
Patients and Methods: Between 1991 and 2000, 4763 of 9543 patients suffering from oral and maxillofacial injuries, sustained dentoalveolar trauma. Records of 6237 different dental injury patterns were reviewed according to the five main injury mechanisms: age, sex, type of injury, cause of accident, and frequency of dentoalveolar trauma. They were statistically analyzed using frequency distribution, chi-square test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and logistic regression analysis.
Results: Household and play (2117), sports (1533), traffic accidents (438), acts of violence (426), and work-related accidents (201) were noted. A total of 4763 patients had 2988 subluxations, 2356 showed crown fractures, 444 had avulsions, 176 root fractures, 154 intrusions, and 119 patients suffered from concussions. This number of patients accounts for the prevalence of 49.9% for dentoalveolar trauma among all facial injuries.
Conclusion: Only the analysis of a large number of injuries reveals the risk of suffering from dentoalveolar trauma. Due to this fact, preventive methods can be recommended and demanded more effectively.