Objective: Dental traumatic injuries (DTI) refer to trauma occurring to the teeth, periodontium or surrounding hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity. Patient presenting with DTI usually has a fractured, loosened or a dislodged tooth. DTIs may occur due to falls, collision with object or a person, road traffic accidents or sports trauma. The aim of the current study was to explore the knowledge of practicing dentists in Karachi, Pakistan regarding DTI's arising from different case scenarios.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted through an Interview style questionnaire among 216 active dental practitioners in the city of Karachi, Pakistan selected through non-probability convenience sampling method. The knowledge of dentists in treating dental trauma cases was assessed using a fourteen-item questionnaire based on eight different clinical scenarios involving DTI’s; with a score of one for each correct answer.

Results: Of a maximum of 12 correct answers to the questions given, respondents’ scores ranged from 1 to 11 (7.06 ± 1.97). A significant connotation was found between the mean knowledge scores and previous trauma experience (P = 0.015). Similarly, practitioners’ gender seemed to have a significant association with the mean knowledge scores (P = 0.032). Moreover, a poor correlation between knowledge scores and postgraduate trauma courses (P = 0.615) or years since graduation (P = 0.894).                                                                                                  Conclusion: Although there were several limitations in this study but the study gives an insight of Pakistani dentist’s knowledge in DTIs. The tremendous variation in knowledge scores of the dentists in this study suggests that more efforts should be focused on continuous professional development so that the knowledge of dentists in treating DTIs is improved.

Index Terms- Knowledge, Dental Trauma, Practicing Dentist