Diagnostic ability of a smart phone app (injured tooth) in diagnosing traumatic injuries to the teeth - a multicentre analysis.

BACKGROUND: Dental trauma is not uncommon. The initial management provided at the time of injury is critical in predicting prognosis. However, initial management depends on correct diagnosis. Recently an App named 'Injured Tooth' was made available to diagnose traumatic injuries to the teeth and supporting structures.

AIM: To test the diagnostic ability of the Injured Tooth App compared with the conventional method of diagnosing traumatic injuries to the teeth.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted at three different centres with 176 patients aged 0-15 years, having 201 injured teeth. Diagnosis of the injured teeth in these children at every centre was done independently by one experienced faculty using the traditional method and by a student using the Injured Tooth App.

RESULTS: Injured Tooth App gave a correct diagnosis for 197 teeth included in the study. Statistical analysis showed that there was good agreement (Kappa = 0.973) between the diagnosis given by the App and the experienced faculty.

CONCLUSIONS: The study found that the diagnosis given by the Injured Tooth App was in good agreement with the diagnosis given by an experienced faculty. Hence, the App can be successfully used by dental students to arrive at diagnosis.