The Regensburg Dental Trauma Registry: Methodical Framework for the Systematic Collection of Dentoalveolar Trauma Data

Objectives: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are common, particularly in children and adolescents, and require timely, well-documented treatment for optimal long-term functional and esthetic outcomes. Despite their prevalence, comprehensive data on TDI remain limited. The Regensburg Dental Trauma Registry (RDTR) was established to enable structured data collection, documentation and analysis of dentoalveolar trauma cases to improve both research and clinical practice. Methods: The RDTR was developed at the Centre for Dental Traumatology at the University Hospital Regensburg as part of a multi-stage implementation process, which involved creating clinical infrastructure, establishing treatment protocols, providing continuous clinician training, and designing a standardized documentation form to capture essential data, including patient demographics, accident details, clinical assessments, and initial treatment. Data are transferred into a REDCap electronic case report form (eCRF), which is hosted on secure university servers, ensuring efficient administration, controlled access and high data integrity. Quality assurance measures, including automated and manual data checks and regular treatment protocol updates, maintain high data accuracy and consistency. Results: This initial methodological report outlines the systematic approach of the RDTR and its potential to generate large datasets. These will enable in-depth analyses of injury patterns, treatment effectiveness, risk factors, and more. Future expansion includes collaboration with additional university hospitals to broaden the dataset and support multi-center approaches. Conclusions: The RDTR offers a framework for consistent data collection and quality control, laying the foundation for comprehensive analyses that contribute to the development of preventive strategies and treatment protocols.