Traumatic fracture of anterior teeth in 12-year old Nigerian children.

Introduction: The WHO has chosen the 12year-old age group as one of the sentinel groups for the monitoring of oral health of the population. Tooth loss in 12year olds is significant because the dentition is still developing and any disruption will affect the development of the arch, occlusion and patient's aesthetic.
Materials and Methods: 1600 12-year-old secondary school pupils were examined in six local government areas of Lagos State. The WHO pathfinder methodology was used.
Results: In this study, more boys 86 (10.8%) had various degrees of trauma to their anterior teeth compared to 71 girls (8.9%)(M:F Ratio is 1.2:1). The overall prevalence of tooth fractures was 9.8%. The most frequent injury was class II fractures (52.2%) and there were more fractures to the maxillary teeth than mandibular teeth, the difference is statistically significant p<0.0 1. The central incisors were the teeth most frequently fractured in both sexes.
Discussion: The prevalence of fractured anterior teeth in this study, even though is lower than earlier studies can be said to be high for this age group because the greatest number of injuries occur at about 14 years of age. Maxillary incisors in this study have a higher prevalence of fractures. A significant finding in this study is that none of the students with fractured anterior teeth have received dental treatment for the fractures
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of fractured anterior teeth in 12year- olds and this problem has not received the necessary attention of the dental profession. Oral health education with the provision of school dental services is recommended as means of solving this problem.