Avaliação do efeito de uma palestra presencial no conhecimento de acadêmicos de odontologia sobre traumatismos dentários

Abstract

Knowledge of the different types of dental trauma (DT) and their respective treatment methods is essential for preventing future post-traumatic complications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention (in-person lecture) on DT knowledge and attitudes among dentistry students at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF). The sample for this longitudinal intervention study consisted of 8th-semester students enrolled in the Dental Emergency Internship. A structured self-administered questionnaire was completed by the participants at three points: initial assessment (T0), before the lecture; short-term post-intervention (T1), one week after the lecture; and long-term post-intervention (T2), two semesters after the lecture. The in-person lecture covered the general concepts of DT, as well as traumatic dental injuries and their management, based on the guidelines of the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT). Descriptive analysis was performed, and the relationship between variables was tested using Cochran's Q and Friedman's ANOVA tests. The significance level adopted was 5% (p ≤ 0.05). Before the educational intervention, 8th-semester students had an average score of 6.43 out of 12 questions on the questionnaire. At T1, this value increased to 7.57 (p = 0.020). There was no difference in the average number of correct answers between T0 and T2 and between T1 and T2. There was a significant increase in the percentage of correct answers between T0 and T1 and between T0 and T2 in two of the 12 specific questions about dental trauma. None of the participants reported having very good knowledge of DT at T0, but immediately after the intervention, 10% claimed to have very good knowledge (p = 0.009). There was a significant difference in knowledge of the IADT guidelines and the official IADT app "Tooth SOS" (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) before and after the educational intervention. However, at all assessment points, the vast majority of students reported feeling the need for more information on managing a patient who had suffered a DT. It was concluded that the lecture had a positive effect on participants' knowledge acquisition about DT immediately after the intervention; however, there was no long-term retention of this knowledge (2 semesters after the intervention). The study highlights the need for other educational strategies to fill this knowledge gap.