Diagnosis of acute dental trauma: the importance of standardized documentation: a review

In 1985 Andreasen and Andreasen published a paper on the diagnosis of luxation injuries and outlined the importance of standardized clinical, radiographic, and photographic techniques. Now 30 years later, these recommendations remain current in the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT) guidelines for the management of dental trauma and describe circumstances surrounding the time of injury, the extent of trauma (e.g., type of luxation injury), healing potential (e.g., stage of root development) as well as information concerning subsequent treatment. The purpose of this review was to include findings for other types of trauma and to discuss more recent studies that augment and/or improve on the original findings from 30 years ago. The present review discusses the use of a standardized clinical registration (pulpal sensibility testing, laser Doppler flowmetry, mobility testing), radiographic survey, and photographic registration of the traumatized patient. Moreover, the value of digital radiographs and recent developments in computer tomography with respect to possible enhancement of the trauma diagnosis are discussed.