Pattern of Tooth Extraction among Adult Patients Attending a General Dental Practice in Benin-City

Abstract

objective : To determine the prevalence and pattern of tooth extraction among adults attending a dental practice in Benin-City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods : This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a General dental practice clinic in Uselu, Benin City between January 2006 and December 2008. Results : Tooth extraction constituted one-third (33.4%) of the dental procedures rendered during the study period. Periodontal disease (45%) and caries (32.6%) were the main reasons for extraction. Other reasons for tooth extraction in descending order were impacted tooth (17.5%), endodontic reasons (1.5%), orthodontic reasons (1.2%), tooth in fracture line (1.0%), trauma (0.6%), supernumeraries (0.4%) and prosthetic reasons (0.2%). Molars constituted 95.3% of all extracted teeth with first molar predominating (40.1%). The prevalence of tooth extraction was highest among 27-36 years age group and the main reason for extraction in this age group was impaction (47.8%). There were more teeth extracted among females than males. More teeth were extracted on lower right quadrant of the mouth. Conclusion : Tooth extraction was the single most commonly performed dental procedure in this study. The data from this study in conjunction with available data from government healthcare institutions would serve as a veritable tool in the development of success oriented preventive strategies towards maintaining natural dentition and preventing avoidable tooth loss.