Survey of reasons for extraction of permanent teeth in Italy

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to collect information on the reasons given by dentists, randomly selected from the Italian Dental and Maxillo-Facial Association's, for extracting permanent teeth in Italy. From the 164 dentists responding, 1056 teeth in 839 patients were extracted during two weeks of working activity. More than two-thirds of the teeth were extracted for dental caries (34.4%) and periodontal disease (33.1%). The mean number of teeth extracted per patient showed a significant increasing trend with increasing age, being 1.09 in those from 16 to 39 yr, 1.25 in the 40–59-yr-old group, to 1.54 in those over 59 yr of age (F = 21.44; PPP<0.0001). Dental practitioners should promote targeted initiatives for prevention and treatment of diseases in order to reduce in particular the incidence of tooth extraction because of caries and periodontal disease.