While substantial proportion of the population of Tehran continue to have their teeth extracted, little is known about the reasons for this loss. The aim of this survey was to investigate the primary reasons for extraction of permanent teeth and their correlations with age, gender, marital status, level of education, recent occupation and the history of smoking in Shahid Beheshti Dental school and two related dental clinics in Tehran from December 2010 to May 2011.
Methods:
The study population consisted of 1382 patients, 673(48.7%) males and 709(51.3%) females, aged 9-95 years from patients undergone tooth extraction for a period of 6 months.
Results:
A total of 2620 teeth were extracted in 1382 patients (1.9±1.9 teeth per patients). 51% of dental extractions were due to caries, 14% due to periodontal disease, 13.9% tooth impaction, 7.2% for orthodontic reasons, 4.1% prosthodontic reasons and 9.4% for other reasons.
Caries was the main reason for extraction in all age groups even in elderly patients but to a lesser degree than in younger patients.
The number of teeth and reasons for their extraction show a significant association with age, gender, marital status, educational level, occupation and history of smoking.
Posterior teeth were more frequently extracted compared to anterior teeth.Third molars were the most frequently extracted teeth in both jaws, accounted for 30.11% of all extractions carried out and impaction was the main reason for their removal.
Conclusions:
Despite the improvement of patients’ attitude toward prevention strategies and maintaining healthy teeth, caries and periodontal disease remain the main reasons for tooth extraction in a significant proportion of population. Dental health promotion including efficient programs focusing on prevention of caries and regular periodontal assessments should be created until regular visits to dentists become a routine pattern of behavior for all.