Causes and patterns of permanent tooth loss among 9-15 years old children in the Central Anatolia Region

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes and patterns of permanent tooth extraction among a subpopulation of 9-15-year-old Turkish children. This study employed a retrospective design and consisted of a total of 198 children aged 9 to 15 years attending a dental faculty between January and December 2019. The clinical and radiographic data were obtained from the medical and dental forms from the faculty database. The inclusion criteria included having at least one permanent tooth loss. Age, gender, the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) scores, type and localization of missing permanent tooth/teeth, and reasons for the loss were evalauted. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test at 0.05 significance level. A total of 198 patients with 309 extracted teeth were evalauted. The mean age of the subjects was 12.95 ± 1.58 years and mean DMFT score was 6.25 ± 3.52. Extractions for orthodontic needs (41.7%) and caries-related extractions (32.4%) were the most common causes of tooth loss followed by unsuccessful dental treatments in 13.9% of cases. While the highest DMFT scores were found in dental caries and orthodonic needs groups, the less scores were found in the “others” group. The most frequently extracted teeth due to caries were the first molar teeth and the first mandibular molars were mostly extracted compared to maxillar first molars. The most frequently extracted teeth due to orthodontic needs and dental caries were seen in girls. Orthodontic needs and dental caries were found to be the main causative factors for permanent tooth extractions.