Knowledge Gaps and Emergency Management Practices of Children’s Dental Trauma: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Primary School Health Teachers and Parents in Urumqi

Background This study assesses knowledge gaps and influencing factors among primary school health teachers and parents in Urumqi, aiming to bridge disparities in dental trauma management. By identifying critical gaps—such as misconceptions about the "golden 30-minute" window for avulsed teeth—it provides a foundation for targeted training programs and policy reforms to improve pediatric oral health outcomes Materials and methods A total of 267 primary school health teachers and 1,420 parents from four districts were randomly sampled from all seven districts in Urumqi. They were surveyed voluntarily over six months using a Chinese-language questionnaire. The data were analyzed using constituent ratio and chi-square tests. Results The survey received 249 valid questionnaires from primary school health teachers and 1,420 from parents across the four districts. According to the statistical results, 66.3% (165) of the teachers had encountered children's dental trauma. Notably, merely 34.3% of health teachers had received formal training in dental trauma management. In cases of tooth avulsion, very few health teachers (3.7%, 6) chose to reinsert the avulsed tooth into the alveolar socket. Regarding the storage medium for avulsed teeth, 18.3% (30) of the health teachers chose milk, 45.5% (76) chose physiological saline, and 9.0% (15) instructed the child to hold the avulsed tooth in their mouth. As for the extra-oral time for avulsed teeth, 46.8% (79) of the teachers believed that the avulsed tooth should be treated within half an hour. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate significant knowledge gaps among both parents and school health teachers in managing pediatric dental trauma, despite frequent exposure to such cases. The findings underscore the need for educational campaigns to improve the understanding of children's dental trauma among parents and primary school health teachers in future initiatives.