ABSTRACT Objective:

To assess the knowledge of undergraduate health care students, about avulsion of permanent teeth.

Material and Methods:

It is a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of Brazilian undergraduate students of the nursing, medicine, and dentistry degree programs. A structured questionnaire developed by the researchers, containing 18 objective questions about avulsion of permanent teeth was used as the data collection. Data analysis included Pearson's Chi-square and Fisher's Exact.

Results:

A total of 82.7% dental students, 22.9% nursing students, and 23% medical students had previously received some information about dental trauma. Students in the second half of the dentistry program had a higher percentage of correct answers in all questions (p<0.05). Being in the first or second half of the nursing program had no relation to the percentage of correct answers by students for any questions (p>0.05). Students in the first half of the medical program had a higher percentage of correct answers for six of these questions (p<0.05). Dentistry students had the highest percentage of correct answers in all the questions (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

Although students from the dentistry degree program report having information on avulsion of permanent teeth, their practical experience was considered low. Upon comparing students from the dentistry, nursing, and medical degree programs regarding their learning about avulsion of permanent teeth, dentistry students had greater knowledge on the subject.