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Survey of the Reasons for Dental Extraction in Eastern Nigeria

Background: Extraction of teeth is the commonest surgical procedure carried out in the dental surgery setting. Aim: The purpose of this survey was to identify the causes of teeth extraction in Eastern Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: Record forms for entering data and a self-addressed return envelope were distributed to 100 dental surgeons in Eastern Nigeria using a simple random selection. Results: Seventy-one (71; 71/100) dentists responded to the request and the total extractions carried out were 3998. There were 1508 (37.7%) extractions in males and 2490 (62.3%) in females with male-to-female extraction ratio of 1:1.7. In both male and female gender, there were more teeth extractions between the ages of 11 and 30 years. Extractions were recorded more in the lower social class (47.6%; 1903/3998). There were more extractions in the permanent (85.0%; 3398/3998) than deciduous (15.0%; 600/3998). The commonest reasons for teeth extraction were caries (55.2%; 2208/3998). Conclusion: The result of this study shows that dental caries is the commonest reason for tooth extraction in Eastern Nigeria. It is hoped that the study will facilitate the development of treatment and preventive procedures relevant to the problems observed in this part of Nigeria, thus minimizing the loss of teeth and its expected adverse consequences.