THE REASONS FOR TOOTH EXTRACTIONS IN ADULTS AND THEIR VALIDATION

Objectives: To investigate the primary reasons for the extraction of p ermanent teeth in adults and to validate the dentists' reasons for ext raction. Methods: Twenty-one dentists in the Greater Manchester area t ook part in the study. These dentists provided extracted teeth stored in 10% buffered formal saline together with details of the patient's a ge, sex, dental attendance pattern and the reason for extraction. In o rder to validate the reasons for extraction, teeth were examined for t he presence or absence of coronal and root caries, A subgroup of 80 te eth, half of which were extracted primarily for caries and half for pe riodontal reasons were selected, stained and attachment loss measured at six sites per tooth to validate periodontal reasons for extraction. Results: Three hundred and eighty-nine teeth were collected of which 37% were extracted primarily due to caries and 29% due to periodontal disease. Caries was the main reason for extraction in patients under 5 0 years, whereas periodontal disease was the commonest reason in the o ver-50 age group. Irregular attenders had more extractions for caries than regular attenders but attendance pattern did not affect the propo rtion of teeth extracted for periodontal reasons, The mean greatest lo ss of attachment on teeth extracted for periodontal reasons was 12 mm compared with 6.5 mm for caries. Conclusion: In this group of patients caries was the most common reason for extraction of teeth but periodo ntal disease became a more important reason for extraction after 50 ye ars of age. The study validated the dentists' given reason for extract ion. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.