Traumatic dental injuries in adults attending a London-based trauma clinic in the UK: a seven-year survey

Introduction: This survey reports the incidence of traumatic dental injuries in an adult population attending an adult dental trauma clinic in a London teaching hospital. Materials and methods: Retrospective data were collected from patients attending an adult dental trauma clinic between 2012 and 2018. Results: In total, 1,769 patients attended, with more men seen (1,030; 58.2%) compared to women (739; 41.8%) and this was statistically significant (p <0.05). The most common aetiological factor was an accidental fall (728; 41.15%), followed by assaults (413; 23.35%), bicycle accidents (253; 14.3%), sports injuries (132; 7.46%) and road traffic accidents (84; 4.75%). Lateral luxation (833) was the most common traumatic injury and this was followed by avulsions (362; 17%). Enamel-dentine fractures were the most common type of fracture injury (1,273; 64%). Discussion: This retrospective survey attempts to report on the incidence of traumatic dental injuries in a London-based cohort of patients attending a specialised dental trauma clinic. In line with other reports, there were more men than women affected, which is probably attributed to behavioural activities. Conclusion(s): Accidental falls are the most common cause of a traumatic dental injury, lateral luxation was the most common type of displacement injury and enamel-dentine fractures were the most common type of fracture injury