DOI: 10.7126/cumudj.1849038 ISSN: 1302-5805

Evaluation of the Effect of a Pre-test/Post-test Study on Parental Awareness and Attitudes Toward Traumatic Dental Injuries

İrem Nacakgediği Turgay, Güler Burcu Senirkentli, Ayşe Yavuz Derman
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ABSTRACT Evaluation the Effect of a Pre-test Post-test Study on Parental Awareness and Attitudes Towards Traumatic Dental Injuries Aim: Dental trauma is one of the most common forms of injury in childhood and case management becomes a critical point in such injuries. The objective of this study was to assess the level of parental knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma through a pretest-posttest design and to evaluate the effectiveness of video-based educational intervention in enhancing their knowledge. Materials and Method: In our study, 200 parents who applied to a university Pediatric Dentistry Department for routine examination were included. A 27-item questionnaire was administered to the parents by the researcher, who requested that they complete it. Following this, the parents were instructed to watch an educational video on traumatic dental injuries, after which they were asked to complete the same questionnaire a second time. Differences between the two dependent groups with respect to qualitative variables were analyzed using the McNemar test and the McNemar–Bowker test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a short-term educational intervention in enhancing parents' knowledge and attitudes toward the emergency management of dental trauma in children. A total of 200 parents participated in the study. Comparative analysis of pre- and post-intervention assessments demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in parental knowledge. Importantly, the proportion of parents who reported consistently monitoring their child’s dental development increased from 67% to 92% (p < 0.001). The ability to correctly distinguish between primary and permanent teeth in traumatic cases rose from 38.5% to 87% (p < 0.001), and the inclination to seek professional assistance following non-painful dental injuries increased from 44.5% to 84% (p < 0.001). Significant improvements were also noted in practices related to cleaning, transporting, and storing an avulsed tooth appropriately. Specifically, the percentage of participants who correctly identified milk as a suitable transport medium increased from 13% to 92% (p < 0.001). However, some misconceptions persisted—particularly the incorrect belief that gently brushing a contaminated tooth is an appropriate method of cleaning—indicating a need for future educational content to more directly address and correct such misunderstandings. Overall, the training program effectively enhanced both the knowledge and appropriate response behaviors of parents in the context of pediatric dental trauma. Conclusion: The findings indicated that parents initially lacked sufficient knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma; however, the post-intervention assessments demonstrated a substantial and satisfactory improvement in their knowledge following the video-based training and post-test administration. Keywords: Dental trauma, parent education, pre-test, post-test, public health, pediatric dentistry

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