Chandigarh: A study conducted by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has shown prevalence of dental injuries to be nearly 9 per cent in school children of Chandigarh between 5-17 years.
The study conducted over a three-year period by PGIMER`s Department of Oral Health Sciences Centre involved 11 schools, both government and private, of high medium and low socio-economic strata of urban and rural areas of the city, Dr Ashima Goyal, who conducted the study, told reporters today.
"The study was conducted to find out the prevalence of dental traumatic injuries to the maxillary and mandibular primary and permanent anterior teeth of Chandigarh school children. A total of 11,538 children were screened," she said.
She said boys (10.18 per cent) showed more traumatic injuries than girls (7.8 per cent), with the results pointing out that there were less traumatic dental injuries in high socio-economic strata of children.
Higher prevalence of such injuries, which was more in the 13-17 years age group, was found more in the rural population (11.98 per cent) compared to urban ones (8.49 per cent).
The places where the children mostly suffered injuries were at home followed by schools and many chose to ignore it till other complications arose.
Orthodontics expert Sanjay Suri suggested that the government should make it mandatory for children to wear mouth guards while playing sports like hockey.
PTI
